pp 


DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 


p^u        Treasure  %oom 
1" 


M 


i 


THE  ETHEL  CARR  PEACOCK 

MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 

Main's  amori  monumentum 


TRINITY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 


DURHAM,   N.  C. 
1903 


Gift  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Drcd  Peacock 


z/ 


MEDICAL  &  PHYSICAL 


MEMOIRS. 


8@eoical  &  jpfigjeftcal 
MEMOIRS, 


CONTAINING, 


AMONG  OTHER  SUBJECTS 


A    PARTICULAR    EXQUIRT 


INTO    THK    ORIGIN    AND    NATURE    OF    THE    LATE 


Pestilential  Epidemics 


OF    THE 


UNITED  STATES, 


BY  CHARLES  CALDWELL,  M.  D, 


IPfjiiatJelpfna ; 

PRINTED   BY   THOMAS  ^WILLIAM  BRADFORD,  BOOKSELLERS 
AND   STATIONERS,  NO.   8.   SOUTH   FRONT    STREgTo 

«o  

<o  1801, 


^1 


G./W  iN\e 


DEDICATION 


TO     THE 


tftitiente  of  ffitUtim, 


UNIVERSITT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 


GENTLEMEN, 

Fr  o  m  cl  conviction  that  the  prejudices 
of  age  arc  frequently  inimical  to  the  advance- 
ment of  science,  and  that  truths,  tending  to 
the  subversion  of  old  errors,  will  ever  find 
their  most  firm  and  faithful  advocates  in  the 
liberal  minds  of  youth,  your  patronage  is 
solicited  to  this  publication. 

When  you  recollect,  that  but  a  few  years 
have  elapsed  since  I  was  one  of  yourselves, 
and  that  the  following  Memoirs  relate  to  sub- 
jects of  difficult  investigation,  I  am  persuaded 
you  will  peruse  them  with  sentiments  of 
indulgence,  rather  than  with  those  of  severity-) 
in  criticism. 


.DEDICATION. 

With  the  solicitude  of  an  elder  brother 
for  your  professional  attainments,   and  with 
sincere  wishes  for  your  individual  happiness, 
I  have  the  honor  to  be 

Tour  obedient,  and 

Very  humble  Servant, 

THE   AUTHOR, 


JKILADELPHIA,  } 

TSERUART    \Sth}    1801.    5 


PREFACE. 


T 


O  answer  its  original  intention,  a  preface  should 
serve  as  a  miror  to  the  work  which  it  ushers  to  the  publx 
eye.  It  should  exhibit  a  conscise  view,  if  not  of  its  origin, 
at  least  of  its  nature,  objects,  and  ends.  On  no  other 
principle  can  it  be  rendered  so  appropriate,  nor  convey  such 
useful  information  to  the  reader.  Perhaps  I  might  add,  on 
no  other  principle  can  it  be  considered  in  any  other  light, 
than  as  a  supernumerary  and  unmeaning  appendage.  Under 
the  influence  of  these  sentiments,  I  shall  offer  a  few  prefatory 
remarks. 

The  first  of  the  following  memoirs  is  to  be  considered 
in  the  light  of  a  basis  for  the  second.  To  be  able  to  decide 
justly,  respecting  the  origin  of  an  epidemic  disease,  it  is 
necessary  to  be  acquainted  with  the  climate,  situation,  nature, 
and  general  relations  of  the  place  where  it  psevails.  Without 
this  knowledge  it  is  impossible  to  determine  whether  the  disease 
be  indigenous  or  of  foreign  extraction.  For,  in  order  to  judge 
of  the  relationship  between  a  cause  and  an  effect,  we  must  first 
enquire  into  the  nature  and  powers  of  the  former,  and  then 
into  the  character  and  affinities  of  the  latter.  It  was  from  a 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  this,  that  I  was  induced  to  turn  my 
attention  to  a  collection  and  arrangement  of  materials  for  % 
physical  sketch  ofthe  city  of  Philadelphia. 

As  an  apology  for  the  style  and  manner  of  th*  second 
memoir,  I  beg  leave  to  inform  the  reader,  that  the  first  eight 
numbers  of  it  (having  since  received  corrections  and  additions) 
appeared  in  the  autumn  of  ninety  nine,  in  one  of  the  public 
prints  of  the  city.  As  it  was  addressed  to  my  fellow-citizens 
at  large,  it  was  thought  most  adviseable  that  it  should  make 
its  appearance  in  a  popular  garb.     For  the  sake  of  uniformity, 


PREFACE. 

something  of  the  same  manner  has  been  preserved  in  the  two 
last  numbers,  which  are  now  before  the  public  for  the  first  timC. 
A  want  of  leis&ra  is  my  best  and  only  reason,  for  not  having 
made  more  and  greater  alterations  in  the  style,  which  I 
acknowledge  to  be,  in  several  places,  too  declamatory  to 
serve  as  the  proper  vehicle  of  science. 

The  principal  points  I  have  endeavoured  to  establish  in 
this  memoir,  arc, 

I.  That  the  late  epidemic  of  Philadelphia,  and  other 
parts  of  the  United  States,  was  not  a  contagious  disease. 

II.  That  consequently  it  was  not   an  imported  disease. 

III.  That  it  was  only  a  modification  or  higher  grade  of 
the  common  bilious  fever  of  our  country. 

IV.  That  it  was  essentially  different  from  the  typhus 
mitior,  or  jail  fever. 

Ill  pursuing  this  subject  it  became  necessary  for  mc  to 
examine  and  endeavour  to  refute  an  account,  given  by  Dr. 
Chisholm,  of  the  supposed  introduction  of  a  contagious  disease 
into  the  Island  of  Grenada,  in  the  spring  of  ninety  three.  In 
doing  this,  I  hope  I  have  preserved  that  spirit  of  moderation 
and  candour,  which  it  would  be  unpardonable  to  violate  in 
philosophical  discusions. 

The  object  of  my  third  memoir  is,  to  contribute  something 
to  the  elucidation  of  an  interesting  and  long  contested  point, 
in  the  philosophy  of  natural  history.  I  have  there  detailed 
all  the  evidence  I  could  collect,  in  opposition  to  the  winter 
submersion  of  swallows,  and  in  favour  of  their  migration  to  u 
warm  climate.  Part  of  this  evidence  consists  in  experiments 
and  observations  of  my  own,  and  part  is  taken  from  the  reports 
of  others  ;  bur,  a  considerable  proportion  of  it  is  derived  from 
the  nature,  powers,  and  apparent  destination  or  uses  of  these 
birds. 

What  first  directed  my  attention  to  the  composition  of 
this  memoir,  was   a  request  made  by  a  friend  at  a  diktance, 


PREFACE. 

that  I  would  furnish  him,  by  letter,  with  my  opinion  on  the 
■winter  retreat  of  swallows.  It  was  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
same  gentleman,  that  I  afterwards  undertook  to  revise  and 
digest  it,  and  finally  to  commit  it  to  the  press  in  its  present 
form. 

The  fourth  memoir  is  published  for  the  purpose  of  coun- 
teracting, as  far  as  in  my  power,  a  pathological  error,  the 
more  likely  to  become  popular  and  to  mislead,  because  it  issues 
from  a  respectable  source.  Common  minds  move  alone,  and 
mankind  remain  unaffected  by  their  mistakes  ;  but  minds  of  a 
superior  order,  like^cars  of  primary  magnitude,  revolve  amidst 
a  croud  of  satellites,  which  reflect  the  phantom-light  of  their 
errors,  no  less  than  the  permanent  radiance  of  their  truths. 

Had  Dr.  Barton's  hypothesis,  relative  to  the  cause  of 
Goitre,  originated  Ayith  one  in  the  inferior  walks  of  science, 
it  would  probably  have  sunk  unnoticed  into  oblivion.  For,  in 
my  view,  its  claim  to  public  attention  results  not  so  much  from 
its  own  inherent  probability,  as  from  the  talents  and  uncommon 
acquirements  of  its  author. 

Such  are' the  outlines  of  the  present  work,  and  such  the 
views  with  which  the  memoirs  that  compose  it  were  written. 

I  cannot  conclude  without  assuring  those  gentlemen, 
whose  facts  and  opinions  I  have  had  occasion  to  controvert, 
that  in  no  instance  have  I  been  actuated  by  personal  motives, 
nor  have  I  uttered  a  word  with  an  intention  to  offend.  Should 
any  expression  in  this  work,  be  thought  to  admit  of  a  different 
Construction,  I  disclaim  it,  as  possessing  no  affinity  to  my 
disposition  and  wishes.  In  testimony  of  my  sincerity,  I  invite 
from  any  one,  into  whose  hands  these  memoirs  may  fall,  the 
same  freedom  in  the  examination  of  my  opinions,  with  which  I 
have  examined  the  opinions  of  other., 


ERRATA. 


Page  9,  line  13,  from  the  top  of  the  page,  for   "  county," 

read  country. 

m 12,  .  3  So4,  for  "  everberating,"  — —  reverberating. 

.  14, i2,   for    "  condersation,"   condensation^ 

— —  47,  21,  for    "    convering,"       .  covering. 

. 69,  10,   for    "  exist,"  exists. 

— —  70,  13  Sc  14,    for  "  of  wise,"  of  a  wise. 

-  128,  bottom  line,  for  "  Polmyra,"     Palmyra. 

,v     ■■  270,  line  18,  for  "  the  are  obliged,"——  they  are 

obliged. 


CONTENTS, 


«@>« 


MEMOIR   I. 

j^\.  physical  Sketch  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  interspersed 
with  General  Remarks,  applicable  to  all  large  and  populous 
Cities. 

Page, 

Introduction  and  Division  of  the  Subject,  «     -      i-7* 

SECTION    I. 

Of   the   Climate  of  Philadelphia,  and  its  effects  on   the 
human  System,       -       ----------         7 

SECTION    II. 

©F  the  situation  and  extent  of  Philadelphia,    and  their 
probable  operation  in  the  production  of  disease,     -      -     23 

SECTION    III. 

Of  such  works  of  art,  in  Philadelphia,   as  appear  to  have 
an  influence  on  the  health  of  its  inhabitants,     -     -     -     41 

SECTION    IV. 

Of  the  population  of  Philadelphia,  with  the  mode  of  living, 
dress,  customs,  and  manners  of  its  inhabitants,     -      -     5f 


SECTION    v* 

General  inferences  and  remarks,      -      -      -     -"     -     -     67 


CONTENTS, 


MEMOIR  II. 


Facts  and  observations,  relative  to  the  origin  and  nature  or 
the  Yellow  Fever,  addressed  to  the  Citizens  of  Philadelphia. 
In  ten  Numbers. 


No.   I, 

Page. 
Introduction,      -      --      ._.....-.     7.5 


No.  II. 

The  importance  of  the  subject  of  these  Number? — The 
inefficacy  of  our  present  Health-law  —  The  various 
abortive  attempts  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  Yellow 
Fever  of  ninety  nine,  to  some  source  01  imported 
contagion,      -      -      ---      ._.-_._-     82 


No.   Ill, 

Pestilential  Efiluvia  generated  in  the  hold  of  the 
+he  prize  sloop  Mary,  after  her  arrival  at  our  wharves — 
Further  reasons  for  believing  the  Yellow  Fever  to  be 
a  disease  of  domestic  origin — Pestilence  cannot  bo- 
come  epidemic,  unless  aided  by  a  malignant  constitution 
of  atmosphere,      -      _---------..     93 


No.  IV. 

An  enumeration,   and  detailed  account,  of  our  different 
sources  of  pestilential  air  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,     104 


No.  V. 

/±  few  additional  measure?  recommended,  for  assimilating 
the  atmosphere  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  to  that  of 
the  country — The  propriety  of  an  alteration  in  the 
■r.nnrn>-r  diet  of  our  Citizens — The  doctrine  of  dojnestij 


CONTEN   T  S. 

Fa£** 

origin,  when  properly  understood,  less  injurious  to  the 
rest    and   reputation    of    our    City,     than    that    of 
importation,      -------------11C 


No.  VI. 

An  attempt  to  solve  the  following  question,  °Ji%.  Why 
does  the  filth  of  Philadelphia  produce  Yellow  Fever 
now,  whereas  it  did  not,  in  former  years,  when  much 
more  abundant  than  it  is  at  present?     _     -     -     -     .      \2\ 


No.  VII. 

Reason  why  Yellow  Fever  has  always  made  its  first 
appearance,  as  an  epidemic,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  wharves — The  question,  so  often 
proposed,  "  Why  does  Yellow  Fever  never  originate 
and  prevail,  in  the  country,  or,  in  inland  towns,  remote 
from  commercial  cities?"  considered— Farther  objections 
against  the  doctrine  of  importation,      -      -      -     -     -      14'S 


No.  VIII. 

A  summary  of  objections  against  the  contagion,  and 
consequenly  against  the  importability  of  Yellow  Fever. 
The  former  plagues  of  Great  Britain,  not  imported 
into  that  Island,  but  generated,  in  a  great  measure, 
by  the  filth  of  the  inhabitants — Conclusion,     -     -     -      160 


No.  IX, 

An  examination  of,  and  objections  to,  Dr.  Chisholm's 
account  of  the  introduction  of  a  contagious  fever  into 
the  town  of  St.  George  (Grenada),  from  the  Colony  of 
Bulama,  in  the  spring  of  ninety  three — The  improbability 
of  the  same  fever  having  been  brought  from  Grenada  to 
Philadelphia,  during  the  summer  of  the  same  year,  even 
admitting  that  it  had  been  introduced  into  the  former 
place  from  the  coast  of  Africa,     -------     17^ 


CONTENTS. 

No.  X. 

A  statement  of  the  analogies  between  Bilious  and  Yellow 
Fevers — Outlines  of  the  practice  proper  to  be  pursued  in 
yellow  fever — The  opinion,  that  Yellow  Fever  is  a  dis- 
ease of  domestic,  or  American  origin,  not  new— -«Vari- 
ous  points  of  difference  between  Yellow  Fever  and  Ty- 
phus Mitior,  or  common  ship  fever,      -      -     -     -     -       20S 

MEMOIR  IIL 
On  the  winter  retreat  of  Swallows,     ------       236 

MEMOIR  IV. 

Strictures  on  "  a  Memoir  concerning  the  disease  of 
Goitre,  as  it  prevails  -in  different  parts  of  North 
America." 

"  By  Benjamin  Smith  Barton,  m#  d."  &c.  he*     -       27? 


MEDICAL 


PHYSICAL    MEMOIRS. 


MEMOIR    I. 


A  PHYSICAL  SCETCH  OF  THE  CITY  OF  PHILADELPHIA, 
INTERSPERSED  WITH  GENERAL  REMARKS  APPLI- 
CABLE    TO    ALL     LARGE     AND     POPULOUS     CITIES. 

X  ERHAPS,  there  is  no  question,  connec- 
ted with  the  science  of  medicine,  which  has 
furnished  ground  for  so  much  popu'ar 
controversy,  as  that  which  relates  to  the 
origin  of  pestilential   diseases. 

As  far  as  medical  records  inform  us 
of  the  transactions  of  other  times,  and  dis- 
tant places,  this  subject  appears  to  have 
constituted  a  theme  of  discussion  in  almost 
every  country,  and  every  age.  Nor  is  it, 
in  the  estimation  of  many,  nearer  to  a  decisive 

C 


[      2      ] 

issue  now,  than  it  was  some  hundred  years 
ago.  Each  side  of  the  question  has  still 
numerous  and  respectable  advocates,  who 
persevere  in  the  controversy  with  equal 
zeal,  and  apparently  with  equal  hopes  of 
success. 

How  far  the  matter  is  calculated  to 
engage  the  public  mind,  and  to  what  ex- 
tent it  can  interest  the  human  passions,  our 
own  country,  and  the  present  time,  afford 
the   most    striking  and  memorable  evidence. 

For  the  ultimate  decision  of  this  question, 
in  which  science  and  humanity  are  alike 
interested,  the  two  following  desiderata  ap- 
pear to  be  necessary. 

First,  A  knowledge  of  that  constitution 
of  atmosphere,  under  which  pestilential  epi- 
demics always  occur. 

Secondly,  A  minute  acquaintance  with 
the  topography  of  those  places,  whicli  they 
generally  select  as  the  theatre  of  their  rava- 
ges. 

I  say  nothing  at  present  respecting  ei- 
ther the  season,  when,  or  the  kind  of  weather, 
under  which,   pestilential  diseases  commonly 


[     9     ] 

prevail,  as  these  points  will  be  more  pro- 
perly considered  in  one  of  the  numbers  of  my 
second  Memoir. 

From  an  adequate  knowledge  of  the  two 
former  particulars,  the  medical  philosopher 
would  derive  much  aid  toward  developing 
the  origin  of  the  evils  in  question. 

But,  it  is  to  be  lamented,  that  notwith- 
standing the  extent,  to  which  pneumatic  re- 
searches have  been  lately  carried,  our  ac- 
quaintance with  the  fluid  which  we  breathe  is 
still  too  limited,  to  enable  us  to  advance  any 
thing  satisfactory  on  the  first  of  these  heads. 

Those  properties  or  states  of  our  at- 
mosphere, that  are  peculiarly  instrumental 
in  the  production  and  propagation  of  pesti- 
lence, are  among  the  secrets,  which  nature 
has  hitherto  concealed  from  the  eye  of 
philosophy.  We  are  able  to  trace  and 
discern  them  only  in  their  effects.  The 
discovery  and  elucidation  of  their  nature 
and  causes,  are  reserved  to  immortalize  some 
future  enquirer,  and  to  constitute  a  new 
era  in  physical  science. 

With  regard  to  the  second  head  the 
case  is  different.  The  objects  which  it 
embraces,  though  numerous  and  diversified, 


C      4      ] 

are   much   more  within  the  sphere  of  obser- 

M 

nation.  Such  is  the  nature  of  most  of  them, 
that  they  need  only  be  examined  in  order 
to  be  understood. 

Notwithstanding  this,  there  is  per- 
haps no  subject,  on  which  medical  records 
are  so  completely  barren,  as  on  that  of  the 
topography  of  large  cities;  yet  these  places 
are  known  to  be  peculiarly,  though  not  ex- 
clusively, subject  to  the  ravages  of  pes- 
tilence.. 

We  have  valuable  topographical  ac- 
counts of  several  of  the  West-India  Islands, 
as  well  as  of  many  country  situations,  in 
America,  Europe,  Africa,  and  the  East, 
which  are  occasionally  visited  by  malignant 
epidemics.  But,  neither  of  Rome,  Carthage, 
London,  Paris,  Amsterdam,  Lisbon,  Ocza- 
kow,  Constantinople,  nor  indeed  of  any 
large  and  populous  city,  in  either  quarter  of 
the  globe,  have  we,  as  far  as  my  enquiries 
have  extended,  any  accounts,  exhibiting  de- 
tailed statements  of  such  local  objects  and 
circumstances,  as  are  calculated  to  have  a 
particular  influence  on  health. 

In  some  measure  to  remedy  this  defect, 
with  regard  to  our  own  city,  and,  by  pointing 
out  to  its  inhabitants    certain  physical  evils 


[      5      ] 

connected  with  it,  to  endeavour  to  have  them 
corrected  or  removed,  constitute  the  object 
and  end  of  the  present  memoir. 

As  the  attempt  is  somewhat  arduous, 
in  consequence  of  its  novelty,  (l)  I  flatter 
myself  I  shall  experience,  in  the  execution 
of  it,  a  due  degree  of  indulgence,  from  the 
liberality  of  my   readers. 

It  is  necessary  to  observe,  that  the  pre- 
sent memoir  is  not  offered  to  the  public  as  a 
complete  historical  picture  of  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  exhibiting  a  view  of  every  thing 


'  (')  Doctor  Rush,  in  his  excellent  "Account  of  the  climate 
of  Pennsylvania,"  published  in  the  first  volume  of  his  "Medi- 
cal inquiries  and  obseivations,"  has  but  very  transiently  touched 
on  the  topography  of  Philadelphia.  His  object  being  the 
whole  state,  it  was  impossible,  and  perhaps,  improper  for  him 
to  be  minute  and  circumstantial  on  particular  parts  of  it. 

1  cannot  help  remarking,  that  in  one  point  relative  to 
Philadelphia,  the  Dr.  appears  to  have  been  mistaken  in  his 
observations. 

"  The  air  (says  he)  at  the  north  is  much  purer  than  at 
the  south  end  of  the  city  ;  hence  lamps  exhibit  a  fainter  flame 
in  its  southern  than  its  northern  parts." 

I  will  not  contend  with  Dr.  Rush,  respecting  the  compa- 
rative purity  of  the  atmosphere,  at  the  two  extremes  of  the 
city.  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  with  him,  that  in  this  respect, 
the  north  end  has  the  advantage.  The  more  common  and 
general  prevalence  of  disease,  at  the  south  end,  furnishes  but 
too  strong  testimony  in  favour  of  such  a  belief. 

I  am  disposed,  however,  to  doubt  the  existence  of  the 
fact  which  Dr.  Rush  has  adduced  in  evidence  of  his  opinion. 
If  the  lamps,  in  the  southern  extreme,  be  furnished  with  wicks 
and  oil  equally  good,  and  with  glasses  equally  transparent,  I 


[      6      ] 

that  might  be  interesting  to  a  traveller.  It  is 
meant  only  as  a  physical  sketch  of  it,  and  will, 
as  already  intimated,  be  confined  chiefly  to 
such  prominent  objects,  as  appear  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  health  of  its  inhabitants. 

Nor  will  it  be  practicable  for  me  to  be 
minute  in  my  account,  even  when  conducted 
on  this  partial  scale.  My  subject  is  still  too 
copious,  to  be  fully  discussed  in  a  few  pages. 
Were  it  my  intention  to  write  a  volume,  in- 
stead of  a  single  paper,  I  anight  then  hope  to 
do  it  some  shadow  of  justice. 

For  the  sake  of  order  and  perspicuity, 
my  memoir  will  be  divided  into  five   sections. 

In  the  first,  will  be  considered  the  cli- 
mate of  Philadelpltia,  with  the  effects  it  is 
likely  to  produce  on  the  human  system. 

In  the  second,  its  situation  and  extent, 
with  their  probable  operation  in  the  produc- 
tion of  disease. 


am  convinced  they  will  exhibit   a  light   no    less  brilliant  than 
those  in  any  other  part  of  the  city. 

The  eudiometer,  a  much  better  tefl  than  the  brilliancy  of 
flame,  for  the  purity  of  our  atmosphere,  shows  no  difference 
between  the  air  of  the  northern  and  southern  extremes  of 
Philadelphia. 


[     7     ] 

In  the  third,  such  of  its  works  oj  art, 
as  appear  to  have  an  influence  on  health. 

In  the  fourth,  its  population,  together 
with  the  mode  of  living,  dress,  customs, 
and  amusements  of  its  inhabitants. 

While  the  fifth  section  will  contain 
such  general  inferences  and  remarks  as 
appear  to  result  most  naturally  from  the 
other  four. 


SECTION     I. 


OF    T3£    CLIMATE    OF    PHILADELPHIA,      AND    ITS    EFFECTS 
ON    THE    HUMAN     SYSTEM. 

|[  HE  city  of  Philadelphia  is  known  to  stand 
in  the  fortieth  degree  of  North  latitude,  a  region 
remarkable,  in  this  country,  for  its  extensive 
range  and  sudden  vicissitudes  of  tempera- 
ture. 

This  remark  is  true,  not  as  it  relates  to 
Philadelphia,  exclusively,  but  also  with 
respect  to  the  greater  part  of  the  United  States 
that  lies  to  the  eastward  of  our  chain  of 
mountains. 


C      8      ] 

From  New  Hampshire  to  the  Carolinas, 
(and  how  much  farther  the  observation  might 
be  extended,  it  is  not  my  pre  ent  business  to 
enquire)  a  liability  to  great  and  sudden  tran- 
sitions from  heat  to  cold,  and  from  cold  to 
heat,  constitutes  a  prevailing  characteristic  of 
climate.  Within  this  extent  of  territory,  the 
mercury  has  been  known  to  vary  upwards  of 
forty  degrees,  in  the  space  of  twenty  four 
hours. 

Russia  alone  excepted,  (where  the  diur- 
nal range  of  the  thermometer  sometimes  a- 
mounts  to  fifty-seven  degrees),  North  America, 
in  general,  appears  to  be  more  subject  to  op- 
posite extremes  of  temperature,  than  any  other 
inhabited  portion  of  the  globe. 

It  is  a  truth  familiar  to  every  one,  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  suffer,  in 
common,  greater  heats  in  summer,  and  more 
intense  colds  in  winter,  than  those  who  in- 
habit corresponding  latitudes,  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe.  Such  changes  cannot  fail 
to  be  unfriendly  to  health  and  life.  For, 
though  the  constitutions  of  all  living  beings, 
whether  vegetable  or  animal,  but  more  par- 
ticularly that  of  man,  are  capable  of  accom- 
modating themselves,  without  injury,  to  con- 
siderable variations  of  temperature,  when 
gradual   in    their   progress,    yet    when   the 


C      9      ] 

transitions  are  frequent,  sudden,  and  great, 
nature  must  inevitably  experience  some 
degree  of  derangement* 

Philadelphia,  like  every  other  large 
and  populous  city,  posseses  a  factitious 
climate  of  its  own,  different  from  the  climate 
of  the  surrounding  country.  This  difference, 
in  summer,  is  equal  to  that  resulting  from  a 
difference  of  several  degrees  of  latitude.  In 
winter,  I  believe,  (though  of  this  I  will  not 
speak  confidently,  having  made  but  few  com- 
parative experiments  on  the  subject),  the 
atmospheres  of  the  city  and  county  are  more 
nearly  alike,  in  point  of  temperature. 

The  summer  climate  cf  Philadelphia  and 
of  other  large  cities  similarly  situated,  is  an 
artificial  torrid  zone,  in  which  the  thermometer 
rises  from  four  to  six  degrees  higher  than  it 
does  at  the  distance  of  a  few  miles  in  the  coun- 
try. The  causes  of  this  superior  degree  of 
warmth,  in  a  city-atmosphere,  appear  to  be 
the  following : 

I.  The  heat  given  out  from  numerous 
and  crouded  fire  places. 

Each  fire  in  the  city  communicates  its 
heat  to  a  certain  distance  around  it.     Hence, 

D 


C    10    ] 

the  aggregate   result   of  the    whole    must  be 
considerable. 

II.  Heat  evolved  by  the  process  of  fer- 
mentation in  ail  its  stages,  the  sources  of 
which  are  much  more  abundant  in  the  city 
than  in  the  country. 

III.  Heat  thrown  out  by  animal  respira- 
tion and  perspiration. 

The  extent  to  which  these  functions  go 
on,  in  the  city,  compared  to  what  occurs  in 
an  equal  space  of  atmosphere  in  the  country, 
is,  perhaps,  in  the  ratio  of  a  thousand  to  one. 

IV.  A  less  free  circulation  of  air  in  the 
city    than  in  the  country  atmosphere. 

Though  this  is  not,  in  itself,  a  powerful 
cause  of  the  actual  evolution  of  heat,  yet,  by 
allowing  the  warmth  of  our  own  bodies,  as 
well  as  that  produced  by  adjacent  objects,  to 
be  accumulated  round  and  to  remain  in  con- 
tact with  us,  it  proves  a  very  fruitful  source  of 
the  distress  we  experience  from  the  summer 
temperature  of  the  city. 

But  farther,  as  rest  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary to  every  stage  of  fermentation,  there 
is  reason  to  believe,  that  air,  when  stagnated, 


C    11    ] 

is  much  mdre'  favourable  to  this  process,  than 
when  in  a  state  of  active  motion. 

V.  Less  evaporation  from  the  surface  of 
the  ground  in  cities  than  what  takes  place 
in  the  country. 

A  deficiency  of  moisture  in  the  earth, 
and  a  consequent  deficiency  of  aqueous  exha- 
lation, are  among  the  most  powerful  of  those 
causes,  which  co-operate  in  producing  the  ex- 
treme heats  of  the  desart  of  Arabia,  and  of  other 
sandy  regions  bordering  on  the  line.  But, 
streets  that  are  paved  with  flint,  and  over- 
spread with  dry  dust,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
streets  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  summer  season, 
are  equally  unfavourable  for  this  cooling 
process. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  dust  were 
swept  away,  and  the  silecious  stones  exposed 
without  a  covering  to  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  instead  of  vapour  carrying  off  heat 
in  a  latent  state,  nothing  but  reflected  light 
accompanied  by  sensible  heat  would  arise,  to 
the  great  augmentation  of  the  warmth  of  our 
atmosphere. 

VI.  The  last  cause  of  the  high  temperature 
of  city  atmospheres,  which  I  shall  mention,  is, 


C    w    3 


perhaps,  more  powerful  than  all  ..the  rest.  It 
is  the  many  solid  and  opake  substances  in 
"+  large  cities  that  act  on  the  principle  of  everbe- 
rating  furnaces,  by  intercepting  and  reflecting 
the  rays  of  the  summer  sun.  Such,  in  par- 
ticular, is  the  operation  of  the  buildings  and 
the  pavement  of  the  streets. 

In  passing  through  a  clear  atmosphere  or 
any  other  transparent  medium,  the  rays  of 
the  sun  produce  no  perceptible  degree  of 
heat.  The  case,  however,  is  different  as 
soon  as  they  fall  on  an  opake  body.  The 
surface  of  the  intercepting  obstacle  becomes 
immediately  heated,  and  communicates  its 
warmth  to  the  surrounding  air. 

If,  on  being  reflected  from  the  first,  the 
rays  impinge  against  a  second  substance,  this 
becomes  in  like  manner  an  additional  source 
of  heat.  A  third  point  of  reflection  becomes  a 
third  source,  so  that  the  number  of  such 
sources,  will  be  in  a  direct  ratio  to  the  number 
of  oprike  bodies  against  which  the  sun-beams 
strike,  either  by  primary  incidence,  or  sub- 
sequent reflection,  But,  as  bodies  of  this  dcs» 
cription  are,  both  in  dimensions  and  number, 
greatly  superior  in  cities  to  what  they  are  in 
the  country,  the  heat,  from  this  cause,  must 


[      13      ]      • 

consequently  rise  in  something  of  a  similar 
proportion. 

Nor  is  the  nature  of  certain  reflecting 
bodies  in  cities  to  be  passed  unnoticed  in  the 
present  enquiry.  Our  glass  windows,  when 
struck  obliquely,  by  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
act  as  so  many  mirrors,  by  throwing  them  in- 
to the  streets  in  a  condensed  state. 

To  the  foregoing  causes  may  be  added 
the  state  or  constitution  of  a  city  atmosphere 
itself.  Being  more  highly  charged  with 
heterogeneous  substances  than  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  country,  it  is  less  transparent, 
and  probably,  therefore,  by  making  some 
resistance  to  the  passage  of  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  gives  rise  on  this  principle  to  a  farther 
evolution  of  heat. 

Perhaps,  the  truth  of  this  observation 
can  be  best  realised,  and  its  force  most  readily 
felt,  by  taking,  in  the  evening,  a  distant  view 
of  the  atmosphere  of  a  large  city.  In  this  way, 
the  want  of  transparency  in  this  body  of  air, 
is  rendered  extremely  obvious.  The  city  ap- 
pears to  be  enveloped,  not  indeed,  in  a  real 
cloud,  but  in  a  body  of  atmosphere  so  sur- 
charged with  smoke  and  other  effluvia,  as  to 
be  able  to  reflect  a  sufficiency  of  light  to  ren- 
der itself  visible. 


C      I*      ] 

It  is  no  doubt  by  viewing  this  phe- 
nomenon, in  times  of  pestilence,  (periods  in 
which  men's  minds  are  unusually  awake  to 
observation),  that  weak  and  superstitious 
characters,  have  been  led  to  imagine  laro-e 
cities  overhung,  on  such  occasions,  by  clouds 
portentous  in  aspect,  and  manifesting  the 
frowns  of  an  offended  Deity. 


Can  the  density  of  a  city  atmosphere 
act,  in  any  measure,  the  part  of  a  convex 
lens,  and  encrease  the  temperature,  by  a 
slight  coiidersation    of  the  rays  of  light  ? 


Such  appear  to  be  the  leading  causes, 
that  combine  in  subjecting  Philadelphia  and 
other  large  cities  in  the  United  States,  during 
three  months  in  the  year,  to  all  the  fervours 
of  a  tropical  climate.  But  from  such  a  duration 
of  tropical  temperature,  tropical  diseases  must 
necesarily  result. 


Hence  the  fevers  of  our  cities  are  more 
violent  and  malignant  than  similar  diseases 
in  the  surrounding  country,  and  bear  a  more 
striking  resemblance  to  the  fevers  of  the  West 
Indies.      And     hence      many    families    on 


[      15      ] 

removing  from  the  country  into  the  large 
cities  of  the  United  States,  are  subject,  during 
the  first  and  second  summers,  in  particular, 
to  a  kind  of  seasoning  or  assimilating  sickness, 
such  as  is  suffered  by  those  who  emigrate 
from  cold  to  warm  climates. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  fever  of  the 
tropics,  is  most  apt  to  attack  those  persons- 
who  have  lately  removed  from  high  latitudes. 
Something  similar  to  such  a  removal  happens, 
every  summer,  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  large 
and  populous  cities  of  our  northern  and  mid* 
die  States 

Having  passed  the  winter  and  spring, 
in  respiring,  and  in  being  otherwise  acted  on 
by,  pure,  cool,  and  wholesome  air,  the  high 
susceptibility,  imparted  to  their  systems  by 
these  causes,  is  but  illy  qualified  to  bear, 
with  impunity,  the  warm  and  contaminated 
atmosphere  of  the  succeeding  summer  and 
autumn. 

The  change  annually  produced  in 
the  constitutions  of  our  citizens,  by  the  win- 
ter and  spring,  may  be  compared  to  that 
which  occurs  in  the  constitutions  of  those 
who  occasionally  emigrate  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  reside  for  a  while  in  Europe  or 


Z      16      ] 

America.  Nor  are  the  former  much  less  lia- 
ble to  an  attack  of  disease,  on  each  return  of 
the  autumnal  season,  than  the  latter  are,  on 
returning  to  the  inclemencies  of  a  tropical 
sky. 


For  it  matters  but  little,  as  to  its  effect 
on  health,  whether  the  atmosphere  which  we 
breathe  is  changed  from  a  cool  and  pure  to  a 
warm  and  foul  one,  by  the  natural  succession 
of  the  seasons,  or  by  our  removing  from  one 
country  to  another. 


Hence  though  Europeans,  who  settle  in 
the  West  Indies,  are  subject  in  general  du- 
ring their  constant  residence  there,  to  but  one 
serious  attack  of  seasoning  sickness,  yet,  such 
is  the  situation  of  the  inhabitants  of  Philadel- 
phia and  other  large  cities  in  the  United 
States,  that  they  are  liable  to  such  a  seasoning 
every  autumn. 


It  is  becoming  customary,  I  am  told, 
with  some  of  the  most  skillful  and  respectable 
of  the  British  surgeons,  to  subject  the  troops, 
sent  out  on  the  West-India  establishment,  to 
a   preparatory  course    of  medicine  and  diet* 


C     17     ] 

previously  to  their  arrival  at  their  places  of 
destination.  This  course  consists  entirely 
in  temperance  and  moderate  evacuations. 


From  the  time  of  their  embarcation  in 
Britain,  or  at  least  as  soon  as  they  begin  to 
enter  thewarm  latitudes,  the  troops  are  direct- 
ed to  receive  a  reduced  allowance  of  animal 
food  and  ardent  spirits,  and  to  be  exercised 
as  little  as  possible  in  the  sun.  In  addition  to 
this,  cathartic  medicines  are  occasionally  ad- 
ministered to  them,  while  venesection  is  prac- 
ticed on  the  most  healthful  and  plethoric. 


This  experiment  is  said  to  be  found  no 
less  salutary  in  its  erfects  than  it  is  rational 
in  its  principles.  If  something  like  it  were 
adopted,  by  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia 
and  other  large  cities  in  the  United  States,  it 
would  contribute  to  their  exemption  from  our 
annual  epidemic.  I  would  not  be  understood 
as  recommending  to  them  the  adoption  of  ha- 
bitual venesection.  Such  a  practice  would 
itself  prove  an  evil,  and  become  in  time 
productive  of  many  inconveniences.  Their 
object  may  be  attained  by  more  moderate 
measures, 

E 


[     13     3 

If,  on  the  commencement  of  the  warm 
season,  (which  generally  occurs  about  the 
first  of  May)  they  could  be  induced  to  di- 
minish their  customary  consumption  of  animal 
food,  ardent  spirits,  and  wine,  aud  from  this 
period  till  the  month  of  October,  subsist  more 
on  vegetables,  malt  liquors,  cider,  and  lemon- 
ade, and  if,  in  addition  to  this,  they  would  be  at- 
tentive to  the  preservation  of  an  open  habit 
of  body,  (a)  by  ah  occasional  use  of  medicines 
moderately  laxative,  they  would  not  only  ex- 
perience less  inconvenience  from  the  summer 
heats,  but  would  enjoy  a  greater  exemption 
from  summer  and  autumnal  diseases.  To 
act  in  this  manner  would  be  to  live  in  con- 
formity to  the  principles  and  rules  of  reason 
and  philosophy.  But,  to  persevere  in  our 
present  mode  of  living,  is  to  leave  health  to 
the  uncertainty  of  chance,  or  rather,  too  fre- 
quently, to  sacraii.ee  it  at  the  shrine  of  habitual 
intemperance. 

On  the  commencement  of  cold  weather, 
the  citizens  might  return  again  in  safety   to 


(*)  If,  in  Gonsequence  ofhabitual  constipation,  the  fxces 
be  suffered  to  accumulate  and  remain  too  long  in  the  intestinal 
canal,  they  would  seem  to  undergo  real' putrefaction,  and  to 
g.Ve  origin  to  a  gas,  in  the  body,  perhaps  no  less  noxious  than 
that  resulting  from  the  filth  of  our  streets. 


C      19      ] 

their  meats  and  their  wines,  which  they  could 
not  fail  to  relish  the  more,  in  consequence  of 
their  abstinence  throughout  the  summer.  It  is 
thus  that  the  Greenlander,  after  having  passed 
through  his  night  of  winter,  enjoys  with  re- 
doubled sensibility  the  return  of  the  spring. 


Were  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia  to 
consult  reason,  instead  of  fashion  and  habit, 
they  would  immediately  perceive  a  summer 
and  winter  diet  to  be  no  less  necessary  for 
them  than  a  summer  and  winter  dress.  If  it 
is  of  importance  to  preserve  a  coolness  of  the 
skin,  it  is  certainly  no  less  so,  to  guard  against 
whatever  has  a  tendency  to  favor  inflamma- 
tion in  the  alimentary  canal. 


Were  any  female  of  our  acquaintance 
to  accustom  herself  daily,  amid  the  fervors  of 
July,  to  walk  our  streets  encumbered  with  her 
muff,  her  tippet,  and  her  cloak,  would  we  not 
commiserate  her,  as  being  subject  to  an 
alienation  of  mind?  Yet,  such  a  custom  would, 
10  the  eye  of  reason,  be  no  more  preposte- 
rous in  appearance,  and  would  certainly  be  less 
injurious  to  health,  than  her  using,  during  the 
same  inclement  season,  highly  stimulating 
aliment  and  drink ! 


[     20      ] 

Such  appears  to  be  the  delicate  and  pre- 
carious tenure,  by  which  the  inhabitants  of 
our  large  cities  hold  the  inestimable  blessings 
of  health.  Were  they  constantly  favoured 
with  moderate  and  wholesome  air,  disease 
would  be  but  little  known  to  them,  except  by 
name ;  and  were  they  perpetually  immersed 
in  a  warm  and  less  pure  atmosphere,  their 
systems  would,  in  time,  (conformably  to  what 
occurs  in  tropical  regions  )  so  far  accommo- 
date themselves  to  their  situation,  as  to  expe- 
rience but  little  injury  from  the  floating  poison. 
The  principal  source  of  their  danger  lies  in 
reiterated  changes  from  the  one  state  of  atmos- 
phere to  the  other.  The  effect  of  a  constant 
residence  in  warm  and  impure  air  is  strongly 
exemplified  in  the  exemption  of  Creoles  from 
our  autumnal  pestilence. 


I  am  not  prepared  to  mention  the  greatest 
extremes  of  temperature  that  have  been  known 
to  occur  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 


For  nearly  four  years  past,  I  have  my- 
self paid  some  attention  to  the  subject  of 
meteorology,  during  which  time  my  thermome- 
ter has  twice  risen  to  near  the  ninety-fifth,  and 
as  often  sunk  to  the  sixth  degree  on  the  scale 


[      21      ] 

of  Fahrenheit,  making  a  range  of  about  eighty 
nine  degrees.  Dr.  Rush  informs  us  in  his 
"Account  of  the  climate  of  Pennsylvania," 
that  the  Mercury  has.  occasionally  descended 
in  this  place,  five  or  six  degrees  below    Zero. 

From  the  beginning  of  June  till  the  close 
of  August,  (and  the  same  thing  may  be  said 
of  many  days,  in  the  month  of  May,  )  the 
mercury  stands,  in  general,  from  noon  till  four 
or  five  o'clock,  as  high  as  from  the  eightieth 
to  the  eighty-sixth  degree.  On  various  occa- 
sions, it  remains  stationary  for  nearly  the  same 
number  of  hours  in  the  day,  as  high  as  the 
ninetieth  degree. 


Such  an  excess  of  summer  heat,  (sur- 
passing even  that  of  the  West  India  climate,) 
accompanied  by  a  state  of  torpor  or  stagnation 
in  the  atmosphere,  cannot  fail  to  produce  a 
languor  in  the  systems  of  our  citizens,  which 
disqualifies  them  for  resisting  the  influence  of 
febrile  poison. 

That  elegant  exotic,  the  popiilus  dila- 
tata  of  Aiton  (better  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Lombardy  Poplar),  exhibits  more  beauty  and 
luxuriance    of   vegetation    in    Philadelphia, 


C      22      ] 

than  in  the  surrounding  country.  This  phe- 
nomenon is  attributable  to  a  twofold  cause. 
The  plant  in  question  derives,  from  the  facti- 
tious atmosphere  of  the  city,  more  of  the  sti- 
mulus of  heat,  and  of  the  food  of  putrid  ex- 
halations, than  it  can  receive  from  the  natural 
and  uncontaminated  atmosphere  of  the  coun- 
try. Being  therefore  a  native  of  a  warm 
climate,  and  delighting,  like  most  other  vege- 
tables of  such  regions,  in  an  abundance  of 
nutriment,  it  cannot  fail  to  flourish  better  in 
the  former  than  in  the  latter  situation. 

I  have  intentionally  passed  in  silence 
over  the  thunderstorms,  the  rains,  the  hails, 
and  the  snows,  of  the  climate  of  Philadelphia, 
being  unable  to  trace  the  connection  of  these 
meteors  with  disease,  except  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  vicissitudes  which  they  occasion 
in  the  temperature  of  our  atmosphere. 

Our  climate  in  general  is  said  to  have 
undergone  a  change,  in  consequence  of  the 
clearing  and  cultivation  of  the  country.  Re- 
specting this  fact  I  have  too  little  knowledge 
to  make  it  a  subject  of  consideration  in  the 
present  memoir.  I  have  no  doubt  however 
of  its  truth,  as  in  many  parts  of  Europe  a 
similar  effect  is  known  to  have  been  produced 
by  a  similar  cause. 


C    23    ] 

I  shall  conclude  this  section  by  observing, 
that  the  middle  latitudes  of  our  globe,  where 
the  annual  range  of  temperature  is  extensive, 
and  its  occasional  transitions  sudden  and  great, 
instead  of  being  hostile,  as  some  have  imagin- 
ed, appear,  both  from  facts  and  principles,  to 
be  friendly  to  the  origin  and  propagation  of 
pestilential  diseases. 


SECTION    II. 

»F  THE  SITUATION  AND  EXTENT  OF  PHILADELPHIA, 
WITH  THEIR  PROBABLE  OPERATION  IN  THE  PRODUCTION 
OF    DISEASE. 

Philadelphia,  (the  original  soil  of 

which  consisted  principally  of  a  humid  clay) 
stands  on  a  plain,  but  little  diversified  by  emi- 
nences, and  intersected  formerly  by  a  few 
streams  of  water,  which  have  been  arched 
over,  and  two  of  them  converted  into  streets. 

Its  altitude  above  the  level  of  the  ocean 
I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain.  I  believe  the 
matter  has  never  been  examined,  either  by 
actual  survey  or  barometrical  measurement. 
Judging  however  from  the  length  and  current 
of  the  river  on  which  it  stands,  taken  in  con- 


[      24     ] 

hection  with  the  nature  and  productions  of 
the  surrounding  country,  it  would  appear  to 
be  considerable.  The  whole  plain  is  subtend- 
ed by  a  stratum  of  granite  rock,  which  lies  at 
the  distance  of  about  forty  five  or  fifty  feet 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

The  site  of  the  city,  though  not  very 
low,ris  evidently,  like  the  whole  country  east  of 
our  great  granite  ride,  of  secondary  origin.  It 
is  washed  to  the  eastward  by  the  Delaware, 
and  to  the  west  by  the  Shuylkill,  and  lies 
about  five  miles  above  the  confluence  of 
these  two  rivers.  Its  elevation  above  low 
water  mark,  ranges  from  forty  five  to  fifty  five 
feet,  the  highest  spot  being  the  point  of  the 
intersection  of  Chesnut  and  Broad  streets. 

To  this  elevation,  Water  and  Perm  streets, 
running  along  the  shore  of  the  Delaware, 
constitute  an  exception.  Leaving  the  general 
level  by  an  abrupt  descent,  they  are  many 
feet  lower  than  any  other  part  of  the  city. 

It  deserves  to  be  remarked  that  in  these 
depressed  situations,  where  the  air  is  particu- 
larly liable  to  become  motionless  and  conta- 
minated, our  autumnal  pestilence  has  always 
commenced  its  epidemic  ravages.  This  dis- 
ease has  appeared  twice  within  a   few  paces 


[     25      ] 

of  the  same  spot  in  Penn  street,  which 
runs  immediately  at  the  foot  of  a  steep 
eminence  that  was  once  most  probably  the 
bank  of  the   river. 

Indeed  both  Water  and  Penn  Streets, 
together  with  the  narrow  skirt  of  land  to  the 
eastward  of  them,  appear  to  have  been  gained 
from  the  water?  by  the  gradual  operation  of 
time. 

I  might  extend  this  remark  farther,  in 
the  present  instance,  and  observe,  that  from 
the  numerous  breccia  and  alluvial  matters, 
which  lie  scattered  over  our  commons,  it  is 
evident  that  the  site  of  cur  city,  like  most 
other  parts  of  our  country,  is  of  Neptunian  ori- 
gin. 

Without  supposing  the  fact  to  have 
any  particular  relation  to  the  health  of  our 
citizens,  I  would  observe,  that  the  tide,  mo- 
ving at  the  rate  of  about  four  miles  an  hour, 
flows  at  the  same  time  and  preserves  the 
same  level  in  the  Delaware  and  SchuylkilL 
Common  or  neap  tides  rise  from  six  to  seven, 
and  spring  tides  from  seven  and  an  half  to 
nine  feet.  The  elevation  of  these  tides  is 
materially  influenced  by  the  force,  direction, 
and  duration  of  the  winds* 

F 


C      25      ] 

The  depth  of  our  wells  is  different  in 
different  parts  of  the  city.  It  is  in  general 
from  thirty  to  thirty  five  feet.  In  some  places 
it  is  forty,  and  in  Penn  and  Water  streets 
seldom  more  than  ten  or  twelve.  From  this 
it  is  evident  that  the  subterraneous  sources 
which  supply  them,  have  no  connection  with 
the  Delaware  or  Schuylkill,  as  they  lie  above 
their  line  of  high  water  mark,  even  in  spring 
tides. 

The  water  of  our  wells  is  by  no  means 
pure.  It  is  found  by  analysis,  to  contain 
magnesia,  calcareous  earth,  muriate  of  soda 
(common  salt),  and  nitrate  of  pot-ash  (common 
nitre). 

The  quantities  and  proportions  of  these 
fossil  substances,  with  which  our  well  water 
is  impregnated,  appear  to  be  different  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  our  city.  Nor  will  I  assert  that 
the  whole  of  the  above  substances,  exist  in 
the  water  of  every  well.  I  presume  howe- 
ver they  do,  as  it  appears  to  be  from  the  same 
stratum  of  earth  that  the  waters  always 
issue. 

The  source  from  whence  our  subterran- 
eous waters  derive  these  fossil  impregnations  is 
a  subject  interesting  to  the  naturalist  and  phi- 


C     27     ] 

losopher.  Do  they  wash  them  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  where  they  first  fall  in 
the  form  of  rain,  hail,  snow,  and  dew  ?  Or 
do  they  collect  them  in  their  subsequent 
passage  as  they  percolate  through  the  earth  ? 


Shall  we  suppose  that  these  fossil  sub- 
stances which  adulterate  our  waters  exist  in 
subterraneous  masses  or  strata  coeval  with 
the  existence  of  our  globe  ?  Or  are  they  the 
result  of  the  gradual  dissolution  of  vegetables 
and  animals  that  have  lain  on  the  surface,  or 
been  buried  in  the  earth  by  some  convulsion 
of  nature  ?  In  either  case,  their  solution 
by  what  I  shall  denominate  the  terrene  wa- 
ters is  equally  practicable. 


I  shall  dismiss  this  subject  by  observing, 
that  the  cause  of  the  above  impregnation  of 
our  subterraneous  waters,  is  a  problem  of  a- 
bout  equal  difficulty  with  that  of  the  general 
salinity  of  the   ocean. 


The  temperature  of  our  well  water  ranges 
from  fifty  to  fifty  three,  on  the  scale  of  Fah- 
renheit. From  my  own  experiments  on  the 
subject,  the  latter    appears  to  be    the  most 


[      28      ] 

general  standard.  I  believe,  (though  I  write 
only  from  memory)  that  Doctor  Franklin  fix- 
ed it  at  fifty-two.  This  difference  of  a  degree 
might  readily  result  from  a  difference  of  ther- 
mometers. 

Perhaps  the  temperature  is,  in  some 
measure,  influenced  by  the  depth  of  the 
well.  This  however  I  propose  only  as  a 
conjecture,  having  made  no  comparative  expe- 
riments to  ascertain  its  truth. 

Though  it  is  suspected  by  some,  that  the 
foregoing  adulteration  of  our  well  water  has  an 
unfavourable  effect  on  the  health  of  our 
citizens,  I  am  unable  to  trace  its  connection 
with  any  particular  description  of  disease. 
The  impurities  contracted  by  our  waters  from 
•the  contents  of  necessaries,  and  other  artifi- 
cial sources  of  filth,  threaten  us  with  conse- 
quences much  more  alarming. 

No  experiments  have  been  hitherto 
made,  to  develope  the  nature  of  these  impu- 
rities. It  is  probable  however  that  they  are 
the  same  products  of  putrefaction,  which, 
when  volatilized,  and  thrown  into  the  atmos- 
phere, give  origin  to  the  various  descriptions 
of  bilious  fevers.  If  these  poisonous  matters 
are  so  terrible  in  their  effects,  when    taken 


[      29      ] 

into  the  system,  through  the  medium  of  re- 
spiration, they  cannot  be  innocent,  when  swal- 
lowed with  our  drink. 

In  sinking  many  of  our  wells,  certain 
curious  and  interesting  discoveries  have  been 
made,  relative  to  the  subterraneous  geogra- 
phy  oi  Pnnadelproa. 

At  the  depth  of  from  twenty  eight  to 
thirty  five  feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  our  well-diggers  have  found,  in  a  state 
of  entire  preservation,  various  vegetable  relicts, 
such  as  hiccory  nuts,  and  acorns,  together  with 
the  bark,  leaves,  roots,  and  branches  of  trees. 

Nor  has  this  been  the  case  in  only  one 
part  of  the  city.  I  am  well  informed  of  the 
same  thing  having  occurred  in  Penn  street,  in 
Dock  street  near  Third,  in  Seventh  street 
near  Arch,  in  Tenth  street  near  Race,  in 
Kensington,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Centre 
square. 

I  have  now  in  my  possession  two  speci- 
mens of  a  fossil  vegetable,  one  of  the  bark  and 
the  other  of  the  root  of  a  pine  tree,  which  must 
have  been  of  a  considerable  size,  that  were 
dug  a  few  years  ago  out  of  a  well  in  Tenth 
street,  from  the  distance  of  thirty  feet  beneath 


C    so    ] 

the  surface  of  the  ground.  Both  the  smell 
and  texture  of  these  specimens  are  nearly  as 
complete  as  if  they  were  just  taken  from 
one  of  the  living  pines  of  our  forests. 

At  about  the  same  depth,  in  Seventh  be* 
tween  Arch  and  Race  streets,  a  well  digger 
found,  a  few  years  since,  branches  of  timber 
not  less  than  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter. 

But  these  phenomena  are  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  site  of  Philadelphia.  They 
are  frequent  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
our  Atlantic  states,  and  have  also  occured  in 
several  instances  to  the  westward  of  the  gra- 
nite ridge.  Indeed  the  same  thing  is  true 
with  respect  to  almost  every  spot  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe,  except  perhaps  some  alpine 
tracts  of  country,  where  no  fossil  vegetables 
have  yet  been  found. 

The  limits  of  this  memoir  will  not  allow 
me  to  enter  on  the  consideration  of  general 
geogeny.  I  will  be  indulged  however  in  ob- 
serving, that  the  level  of  the  earth's  surface, 
between  the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill,  is  very 
different  now  from  what  it  has  been  at  some 
distant  period  of  time.  Of  the  truth  of  this 
the  foregoing  subterraneous  phenomena  afford 
indisputable     evidence.     They    cannot    fail, 


[      31      ] 

I  think,  to  produce  a  conviction,  that  the  stra- 
tum in  which  these  fossil  vegetables  are  now 
found  embedded,  constituted  formerly  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  For  we  are  aecquain- 
ted  with  no  process  of  nature,  by  which  these 
vegetable  relicts  could  have  been  sunk, 
through  solid  earth,  to  the  depth  at  which 
they  lie. 

It  would  appear  then,  that  at  a  distant 
and  unrecorded  period  of  time,  the  surface 
of  that  part  of  the  globe  which  we  inha- 
bit, has  suffered  the  stroke  of  some  stupen- 
dous revolution  which  prostrated  the  vegeta- 
ble kingdom,  and  overwhelmed  it  by  a  ponder- 
ous covering  of  earth.  Whether  this  earthy 
incrustation  was  slowly  deposited  by  the  wa- 
ters of  a  retreating  deluge,  or  thrown  where  it 
now  lies  by  the  commotions  of  an  earth-quake, 
are  questions  which  I  leave  to  the  solution 
of  philosophical  geologists. 

I  am  farther  informed,  and  believe  it  to  be 
true,' that  fragments  of  earthen  ware  have  been 
dug  out  of  a  well  in  Philadelphia,  and  also 
out  of  another,  at  the  distance  of  about  fifteen 
miles  in  the  country.  In  the  former  instance, 
these  relicts  of  art  were  found  at  the  depth  of 
thirty,  and  in  the  latter,  of  forty  feet  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  earth. 


C      32      ] 

Are  not  these  facts  calculated  to  inspire 
a  belief,  not  only  that  our  country  had  former- 
ly a  surface  different  from  its  present  one, 
but  that  this  surface  was  peopled  by  human 
inhabitants,  who  perished  in  the  shock,  by 
which  the  vegetable  kingdom  was  inhumed  ? 

A  particular  description  of  the  original 
nature  of  the  soil,  on  which  Philadelphia 
stands,  would  be  of  little  importance  in  giving 
an  account  of  its  present  state.  By  draining, 
paving,  the  influence  of  necessaries,  grave- 
yards, and  the  admixture  of  other  foreign 
materials,  it  is  so  completely  changed  as  to 
retain  at  present  scarcely  one  of  its  former 
qualities.  Where  it  was  once  humid,  it  is  now 
perhaps  dry ;  where  it  was  formerly  nothing 
but  a  mixture  of  clay  and  sand,  it  is  now  a 
collection  of  rank  and  offensive  materials. 
Where  the  oak  and  the  poplar  once  rose  in 
their  strength,  and  drew  sustinence  from  a 
sweet  and  cleanly  mould,  the  willow  spreads 
around  its  feeble  branches,  fed  by  the  fes- 
tering contents  of  the  grave  ! 

In  a  word,  the  present  soil  of  our  city  is 
no  less  the  production  of  art,  than  the  pave- 
ment of  its  streets,  or  the  buildings  which  it 
contains.     It  is  but  reasonable  therefore  to  me 


C      33      ] 

fer,  that  the  exhalations  to  which  it  gives  bin 
now,  must  be  different  from  those  it  emitted 
when  in  a  state  of  nature. 

These  considerations  impel  me  to  a  far- 
ther review  of  the  striking  v  revolution  which 
the  site  of  Philadelphia  has  undergone,  in 
little  more  than  the  space  of  a  century.  They 
bear  me,  in  the  spirit  of  retrospect,  back  to 
the  time  when  the  very  place  where  this  cele- 
brated city  now  stands,  with  all  its  concourse 
of  civilized  and  polished  inhabitants,  consti- 
tuted a  part  of  a  continent  of  wilderness  ! 
They  carry  me  to  the  period,  (nor  is  that  pe- 
riod of  ancient  date)  when  the  Aborigines  of 
our  country  pursued  their  game  over  the  same 
track,  that  is  at  present  the  haunt  of  the  sons 
of  commerce  ! 

On  the  ground,  where  the  private  dwel- 
ling, or  the  public  edifice,  now  rises  in  the 
majesty  of  art,  I  behold,  in  imagination,  the 
cabbin  of  the  savage  !  On  the  very  spot  (3) 
immortalized  by  that  band  of  patriots,  whose 
wisdom  planned,    and   whose  intrepidity  de- 


(3)  The  Congress,  of  '76,  were  in  Session  in  the  State- 
House  in  Philadelphia,  when  they  declared  the  Unitad  States 
"  free   and  independent,"' 

G 


L      34      3 

clared  the  independence  of  our  country,  I 
see  the  Sachems  assembled  deliberating  on 
blood !  On  yonder  stream  (4),  where  now  the 
vessel  towers  in  her  pride,  armed  with  the 
thunders  of  a  mighty  people,  or  richly  fraught 
From  the  climates  of  the  east,  I  behold  the 
untutored  Indian  embarquing  in  his  canoe, 
to  angle  for  the  precarious  subsistence  of  a 
day  !  And,  hark  !  to  the  ear  of  fancy,  that 
harbinger  of  death  the  war-whoop,  resounds 
from  the  place  where  the  eloquence  of  our 
nation  is  heard !  (5)  Such  has  been  the  tri- 
umph of  industry  directed  by  wisdom,  and 
urged  by  a  spirit  of  enterprize,  over  the  rude- 
ness of  uncultivated  nature !  But  to  return 
from  this  digression. 


Philadelphia,  situated  in  a  champaign 
country  about  midway  between -the  Atlantic 
and  the  Apellachian  ridge,  is  deprived  of 
both  the  sea  and  the  mountain  breezes.  For 
it  is  a  truth,  that  mountains,  equally  with  the 
ocean,  contribute  to  a  free  and  uniform  venti» 
lation. 


(4)  The  Delaware. 

(s)  This  memoir  was  written,  in  March  1800,  when  the 
National  Legislature  was    in  session  in  Philadelphia. 


C     35     ] 

Great  and  abrupt  elevations  of  land, 
no  less  than  extensive  bodies  of  water,  pre- 
vent the  existence  of  an  equilibrium  in  the 
superincumbent  air,  and  thus  preserve  the  at- 
mosphere in  perpetual  motion.  Cold  air  de- 
scends from  the  tops  of  mountains,  to  dis- 
place the  rarified  atmosphere  of  neighbouring 
vallies  and  plains,  on  the  same  principle  which 
impels  the  air  of  the  ocean  toward  the  land, 
constituting  what  is  denominated  the  sea 
breeze. 

To  these  unfavourable  particulars  in 
the  situation  of  Philadelphia,  are  we  indebted 
in  some  measure  for  our  summer  heats,  and 
no  doubt  in  part  for  our  autumnal  epidemics. 
Hence,  (other  circumstances  being  alike), 
large  cities  having  a  maritime  exposure,  are 
not  only  more  cool,  but  enjoy  a  fairer  pro- 
spect of  exemption  from  pestilential  disseases, 
than  such  as  stand  in  inland  situations. 
And  h^ce  these  wasteful  maladies  but  sel- 
dom attack  the  inhabitants  of  mountainous 
countries,  fanned  by  the  breezes  that  descend 
from  their  hills. 

To  some  it  may  perhaps  appear  extraor- 
dinary, that  mountains,  which  are  the  most 
elevated,  and  the  ocean,  which  is  the  most 
depressed   portion  of    the  globe,   should  be 


C     36     ] 

productive  cf  similar  commotions  in  the  at- 
mosphere. Such  however  is  the  fact,  and, 
as  already  observed,  they  seem  to  operate  on 
the  same  principle. 

l:r  either  case  ventilation  is  the  result  of 
local  circumstances,  while  agents  more  exten- 
sive and  powerful  are  necessary  to  put  in 
motion  the  body  of  air,  incumbent  on  an  extent 
of  champaign  country. 

The  causes  of  ventilation  in  mountainous 
places  and  near  to  the  ocean,  rise  out  of  the 
nature  of  the  situations  themselves,  and  are 
therefore  in  constant  operation,  particularly  in 
the  summer  season ;  whereas  the  causes  of 
winds,  in  inland  and  level  countries,  being 
more  accidental,  occur  only  at  uncertain  pe- 
riods. 

The  clearing,  draining,  and  cultivation, 
of  that  neighbouring  and  marshy  tract  of 
country,  denominated  the  u  Neck,"  is  a  mea- 
sure calculated  to  improve  the  health  of  our 

city. 

Lying  but  a  short  distance  to  the 
southward  of  Philadelphia,  and  giving  origin 


C      37      ] 

formerly  to  an  immense  volume  of  marsh  mi- 
asma, this  subtle  poison  must  have  been  ne- 
cessarily conveyed  to  the  city  by  the  autumnal 
winds. 

The  cultivation  of  the  soil  has  not  only 
given  a  check  to  the  generation  of  this  poison, 
but  has  covered  the  surface  of  the  earth  with 
an  abundance  of  vegetables,  which  absorb 
and  convert  it  to  their  own  nourishment.  For 
vegetables  act  as  the  scavengers  of  the  at- 
mosphere, clearing  it  of  such  gases  as  are 
hostile  in  their  nature  to  the  health  of  man. 

An  additional  step  might  yet  be  taken 
to  give  us  greater  security  against  the  influ- 
ence of  the  deleterious  air  in  question.  Were 
several  adjoining  lots,  to  the  southward  and 
westward  of  the  city,  converted  into  a  park 
or  public  garden,  and  covered  with  grove  rind 
forest  trees,  these  lofty  plants  would  not  only 
aid  the  inferior  vegetables  in  devouring  mi- 
asmata from  the  neighboring  marshy  grounds, 
but  would  also  act  mechanically  in  arresting 
the  winds,  which  mingle  this  exhalation  with 
the  atmosphere  of  our  streets. 

A  fact  recently  communicated  to  me  by 
an  old  and  celebrated  physician  of  this  place, 


C      38      ] 

confirms  me  still  farther  in  the   above  opi- 
nion. 

This  gentleman  informs  me,  that  previ- 
ously to  our  late  revolutionary  war,  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  was  surrounded  from  east  to 
west  by  a  range  of  forest  timber,  which  pro- 
tected it  from  the  exhalations  discharged  by 
the  marshes  of  the  Neck,  and  by  the  more 
distant  shores  of  the  Schuylkill. 

This  timber  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  rapaci- 
ous hand  of  the  British  army,  in  the  winter 
of  1778-9,  since  which  time  the  citv  has  been 
more  generally  pervaded  by  bilious  fever,  than 
had  been  the  case  in  former  years. 

The  principal  cause  of  this  unfortunate 
change  would  appear  to  be  the  destruction  of 
the  above  range  of  timber,  which  had  been 
previously  our  safeguard  from  distant  ex- 
halation. 

The  city  of  Philadelphia  is  not  built  in 
all  respects  agreeably  to  the  original  plan  of 
its  founder.  It  was  the  intention  of  that  en- 
lightened statesman  that  no  houses  should  be 
erected  between  Water  street  and  the 
river. 


C      39      ] 

Including  the  district  of  Southwark, 
Kensington,  and  the  Northern  Liberties,  the 
buildings  extend  from  North  to  South,  along 
the  Delaware,  upwards  of  three  miles,  and 
nearly  a  mile  in  a  westerly  direction  towards 
the  Schuylkill.  That  part  adjacent  to  the 
Delaware  is  most  thronged  with  houses  and 
inhabitants,  and  has  always  been  most  severe- 
ly ravaged  by  our  autumnal  pestilence. 

It  has  been  long  known  that  large  cities 
have  an  unfavourable  influence  on  the  health 
and  strength  of  the  human  system.  This 
effect  of  these  establishments,  appears  to  be 
in  some  measure  in  proportion  to  the  extent 
and  croudedness  of  their  population,  but 
more  particularly  in  proportion  to  the  seden- 
tary occupations  of  their  inhabitants. 

The  most  diminutive  of  the  Britons  are 
those  that  are  born  and  reared  amid  the  smoke 
and  dust  of  London,  and  in  the  large  manu- 
facturing towns  of  the  kingdom,  while  Paris 
and  other  populous  cities  of  Europe  and  Asia, 
are  no  less  remarkable  for  the  same  effect  on 
the  growth  of  their  native  citizens. 

Nor  does  even  the  duration  of  human 
life  escape  the  influence  of  the  same  causes. 
It  is  among  those  born  and  raised  in  the  conn- 


[      40      ] 

try  or  in  small  villages,  and  not  among  the 
natives  of  large  and  crouded  cities,  that  we 
are  to  look  for  the  most  striking  instances  of 
human  longevity.  It  is  indeed  to  be  expect- 
ed, that  those  causes  which  so  far  weaken  the 
system  of  man  as  to  prevent  it  from  acquiring  its 
natural  magnitude,  will,  on  the  same  prin- 
ciples, contract  the  •  usual  term  of  its  dura- 
tion. 

Though  Philadelphia  is  in  infancy,  both 
in  age  and  size,  when  compared  to  London  or 
Paris,  yet  still  is  her  influence,  as  a  city,  be- 
coming evident  on  the  stature  and  strength  of 
her  native  inhabitants.  For  in  these  respects, 
the  Philadelphians,  though  well  proportioned, 
active,  and  graceful,  are  certainly  inferior  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country. 

This  inferiority  in  the  stature  and 
strength  of  those  born  and  reared  in  large  ci- 
ties, appears  to  result  from  the  co-operation  of 
several  causes.  The  principal  of  these  are, 
sedentary  occupations,  intemperate  and  irre- 
gular living,  early  incontinence,  raid  an  atmos- 
phere impregnated  with  impurities  unfriendly 
to  animal  nature. 

But  it  is  not  the  growth  and  longevity 
of  man   alone  that  are  affected  by  the  influ- 


t     41      ] 

erxe  of  populous  cities.  Dogs,  cats,  and  other 
domestic  animals  are  in  like  manner  susceptible 
of  injury  from  these  laboratories  of  poison. 


SECTION    IIIi 

OF  SUCK  AVORKS  OF  ART  IK  PHILADELPHIA,  AS  APPEAR 
TO  HAVE  AN  INFLUENCE  ON  THE  HEALTH  OF  ITS 
INHABITANTS. 


I 


am  not  unconscious  of  the  important 
nature  of  the  present  section,  nor  of  the  difficul- 
ties attendant  on  a  due  examination  and  state- 
ment of  the  objects  which  it  embraces.  In 
entering  on  it  I  feel  myself  engaged  in  an 
undertaking,  which,  in  its  full  extent,  contem- 
plates nothing  less  than  a  complete  analysis 
of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  with  an  account 
of  the  physical  influence  of  each  artificial  ob- 
ject it  contains. 

The  accomplishment  of  such  a  task  in 
all  its  relations,  would  require  habits  of  ob- 
servation, powers  of  discernment,  and  perse- 
verance in  enquiry,  of  no  common  order. 

Under  the  present  head  I  might,  with- 
out an  inadmissible  digression  from  my  sub- 

H 


ject,  proceed  to  delineate  that  plan  for  the 
construction  of  large  cities  in  general,  which 
should  appear  to  me  best  calculated  to  secure 
the  health  of  their  inhabitants.  But  such  a 
latitude  and  minuteness  of  enquiry  would 
carry  me  far  beyond  the  limits  necessarily 
prescribed  to  this  memoir. 

The  utmost  extent  to  which  I  can  go 
will  be,  briefly  to  touch  on  those  objects  that 
appear  first  in  consideration  with  regard  to 
their  influence  on  the  health  of  our  citizens, 
passing  inferior  ones  without  notice.  In  doing 
this  I  am  sensible  I  shall  only  sketch  the  out- 
lines of  my  picture,  and  must  leave  to  the 
discretion  of  the  reader  to  bestow  on  it,  by 
his  own  reflections,  such  finishing  as  his  judg- 
ment may  approve. 

It  was  observed  in  a  preceding  section, 
that  whatever  works  of  art  tend  either  to 
augment  the  summer  temperature  or  to  di- 
minish the  general  purity  of  the  atmospheres 
of  large  cities,  must  necessarily  injure  the 
health  of  their  inhabitants. 

Of  the  principal  causes  which  contri- 
bute to  the  former  of  these  effects,  a  cursory 
statement  has  been  already  given.     We  shall 


C     43      3 

proceed  to  a  brief  consideration  of  those  that 
give  rise  to  the  latter. 


Many  of  the  causes  which  co-operate 
in  encreasing  the  temperature,  take  part  also  in 
diminishing  the  puriy  of  the  atmospheres  of 
large  cities.  This  is  particularly  the  case 
with  combustion,  respiration,  and  fermenta- 
tion in  all  its  stage* 


is. 


These  several  processes  contaminate  the 
air,  not  in  a  simple,  but  in  a  twofold  manner  and 
degree.  For  while  they  depend  for  their  ex- 
istence  on  the  absorption  and  neutralization 
of  respirable  air,  they  give  origin. to  gases 
that  are  deleterious  to  health. 


To  the  process  of  fermentation,  particu- 
larly to  its  putrefactive  stage,  arc  we  indebt- 
ed for  that  formidable  poison,  which,  when 
mingled  with  our  atmosphere  in  a  gazeous 
state,  has  so  repeatedly  threatened  Philadelphia 
with  final  depopulation.  This  pestilential  gas, 
aided  by  a  high  temperature,  and  by  irregula- 
rities in  living,  gives  origin  to  all  our  bilious 
affections  of  summer  and  autumn.  It  is  there- 
fore the  parent  of  a  great  proportion  of  the 
annual  disease  of  our  city. 


C      44      ] 

Having,  in  the  fourth  number  of  my 
second  memoir,  given  an  account  of  the  prin- 
cipal sources  that  give  origin  to  the  febrile 
poison  in  question,  a  detailed  repetition  of 
them,  on  the  present  occasion,  is  unneces- 
sary. 

They  are  our  docks,  wharves,  gutters, 
cellars,  privies,  common  sewers,  grave -yards, 
the  foul  holds  of  vessels,  and  every  descrip- 
tion of  putrefactive  substances  suffered  to 
pollute  the  streets  of  our  city.  (6) 

I.  To  the  grave-yards,  in  particular,  I  am 
anxious  that  the  attention  of  our  citizens  and 
corporation  should  be  directed. 

From  the  number,  extent,  and  situation 
of  these  receptacles  of  the  dead,  no  doubt,  I 
think,  can  be  entertained  of  their  influence  in 
vitiating  both  the  air  and  waters  of  their  re- 
spective neighbourhoods. 

The  public  burying-grounds  belonging 
to  Philadelphia   amount  in  number  to  about 


(c)  However  superficial  our  observation  may  be,  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  escape  a  conviction,  that  during-  the  action 
of  the  summer  heats,  an  immensity  of  noxious  air  must  bs 
evolved  from  these  extensive  magazines  of  filth. 


C    is    ] 

i 

twenty-two  or  twenty -three.  Of  these  twelve 
or  fourteen  of  the  most  ancient  and  extensive 
are  situated  in  central  parts  of  the  city. 

In  consequence  of  the  progressive  inter- 
ments in  these  places,  their  volumes  of  pe- 
rishable matter  must  receive  a  daily  augmen- 
tation. Instead  of  being  removed,  therefore, 
we  have  before  us  the  melancholy  prospect, 
that  during  the  present  establisment  of  things, 
these  sources  of  calamity  will  inevitably  in- 
crease with  the  progress  of  time. 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  the  peri- 
od is  approaching,  when  the  wisdom  of  our 
police  will  provide  a  remedy  for  this  palpable 
and  long  neglected  evil. 

To  this  end  all  interments  should  be 
made  without  the  city,  in  places  set  apart  for 
that  purpose,  while  the  surfaces  of  the  interior 
grave -yards  now  in  use  should  be  levelled,  co- 
vered to  a  considerable  depth  with  fresh  soil, 
sodded,  or  sown  with  grass-seeds,  and  planted 
with  grove  and  forest  trees  of  rapid  and  lux- 
uriant growth. 

By  the  adoption  of  such  measures,  those 
places  which  now  exhibit  the  cheerless  prospect 
of  a  waste  of  head  stones,  intermingled  with 


[      46      ] 

fresh  and  half-demolished  graves,  would 
soon  burst  on  the  eye  arrayed  in  all  the 
beauties  of  vegetation.  Those  dreary  walks, 
which  are  at  present  but  little  better  than 
charnel  houses,  pouring  forth  the  seeds  of 
pestilence  and  death,  would  be  converted  into 
groves  ornamental  to  our  city,  the  haunts  of 
rational  amusement,  and  the  sanctuaries  of 
health  ! 


II.  The  manner  in  which  the  houses  of 
Philadelphia,  and  indeed  of  our  country  in 
general,  are  constructed,  is  by  no  means 
favorable  for  the  prevention  of  disease. 


Instead  of  being  in  all  respects  adapted 
to  the  genius  and  character  of  our  climate, 
they  are  built  in  perfect  imitation  of  the  houses 
of  Great  Britain.  In  this  particular,  as  in 
too  many  others,  it  is  fashion  and  habit,  not 
experience  and  reason,  that  command  our 
homage. 


The  builders  of  houses  in  Philadelphia 
should  recollect,  that  at  opposite  seasons  of 
the  year,  we  have  to  encounter  great  extremes 
of  temperature.     What  can  equal  the  occasi- 


C     47     ] 

onal  severity  of  the  cold  of  our  winters,  unless 
it  be  the  still  greater  intensity  of  our  summer 
heats  ! 

To  counteract  as  for  as  possible  the 
influence  of  these  extremes,  should  be  a 
leading  object  in  the  construction  of  our  habi- 
tations. 

For  this  purpose  our  walls  should  be 
much  thicker,  and  our  windows  much 
smaller  and  fewer  in  number,  than  comports 
with  the  fashionable  style  of  building. 

What  can  be  more  irrational  and  absurd, 
in  a  bleak  and  piercing  winter-day,  than  a 
house,  with  a  multitude  of  windows  reaching 
almost  from  the  cieling  to  the  floor,  unless  it 
be  the  same  house,  admitting  through  the 
same  windows  the  undiminished  blaze  of  the 
summer's  sun?  Such  a  phenomenon  is  no  less 
unworthy  of  thinking  beings,  than  would  be 
that  of  a  large  piece  cut  out  of  a  garment  to 
render  it  a  warmer  convering,  or  a  hole  formed 
in  an  umbrella  to  increase  its  fitness  for  pro- 
tecting us  from  the  solar  rays. 

However  paradoxical  it  may  appear  to 
some,  it  is  unquestionably  true,  that  the 
principal  part  of  the  heat  of  our  houses  in 


[      48      ] 

summer,  and  much  of  their  cold  in  winter, 
gain  admission  through  the  windows.  On  a 
knowledge  of  this  fact  is  founded  the  practice 
so  common  with  our  old  housekeepers,  of 
shutting  up  their  rooms  during  the  heat  of  the 
day  in  summer,  in  order  to  preserve  in  them 
an  agreeable  temperature. 

The  j  ail  of  Philadelphia,  notwithstanding 
it  is  considerably  crouded  by  inhabitants,  is, 
in  the  summer  season,  by  far  the  coolest 
building  in  the  city.  This  I  advance,  not  as 
an  opinion  founded  on  conjecture  or  analogy, 
but  as  a  fact  ascertained  by  actual  experi- 
ments during   the  heats  of  last  July. 

Added  to  the  many  other  circumstances, 
suggested  and  devised  by  an  enlightened  and 
humane  policy,  which  combine  in  softening  the 
condition  of  the  prisoners  in  our  jail,  these 
unfortunate  characters  enjoy  the  most  com- 
fortable retreat  from  the  intemperance  of  our 
climate.  For  this  they  are  indebted,  in  par- 
ticular, to  the  thick  walls  and  small  windows 
of  their  place  of  confinement. 

The  Spaniards  are  said  to  surpass  the 
inhabitants  of  all  other  European  countries, 
in  the  art  of  counteracting  the  influence  of  a 
warm    climate  by  the    construction   of  their 


[      49      ] 

houses.  For  this  purpose,  they  make  their 
walls  thick,  their  windows  small,  and  their 
apartments  spacious. 

Hence,  by  many  persons,  whose  minds 
ate  probably  more  under  the  influence  of 
prejudice  than  good  sense,  Spanish  dwell- 
ings are  said  to  resemble  family  prisons  ;  and, 
as  that  people  are  noted  for  habits  of  jealousy* 
are  supposed  to  be  constructed  for  the  express 
purpose  of  securing  the  chastity  of  their 
females,  by  concealing  them  more  effectually 
from  the  public  eye.  Let  us  for  a  moment 
analyse  this  subject,  and  we  will  find  that 
their  plan  of  building  is  directed  by  principles 
strictly  philosophical. 

The  warmth  of  our  apartments,  in  the 
summer  season,  is  the  result  of  the  external 
influence  of  the  sun,  either  entering  imme- 
diately through  the  windows,  or  making  its 
way  more  gradually  through  the  solid  walls. 
The  smaller  and  fewer  the  windows  are,  the 
fewer  sun  beams  will  they  admit,  to  excite 
heat  by  their  action  on  the  interior  parts  of 
the  houses  ;  and  the  thicker  the  walls  are,  the 
more  difficult  will"'' it  be  for i the  heat  to  pass 
through  them,  and  raise  the  temperature  of 
the  internal  atmosphere. 

I 


C    so    ] 

If,  in  addition  to  small  windows  and 
thick  walls,  the  apartments  be  large,  the 
security  against  the  external  heat  will  be  car- 
ried still  nearer  to  perfection  ;  for  the 
larger  the  internal  volume  of  air,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  avenues  for  the  admission  of  heat* 
the  less  liable  will  it  be  to  an  increase  of 
temperature.  Very  large  apartments  possess, 
both  in  summer  and  in  winter,  a  kind  of  in- 
sulated atmospheres,  to  a  certain  degree 
independent  of  the  external  air.  Hence  a 
principal  reason,  why  the  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere  in  St.  Paul's  Church  in  London^ 
is  in  summer  from  six  to  eight  degrees  lower 
than  that  of  the  general  atmosphere  of  the 
city. 

The  people  of  the  Barbary  states,  a3 
well  as  the  inhabitants  of  most  of  the  warm 
cpuntries  of  the  east,  appear  to  possess  just 
ideas  relative  to  the  effect  of  numerous  and 
large  windows,  in  the  admission  of  heat. 
Hence  their  dwellings  present  to  view  but 
little  e-lse  than  dead  walls.  However  unsight- 
ly and  gloomy  this  may  appear  to  the  travel- 
ler, accustomed  to  the  style  of  buildings  in 
Europe  and  America,  it  forms  the  best  de- 
fense against  the  intense  heats,  particularly 
the  scorching  winds,  that  prevail  in  many  parts 
cf  Asia  and  Africa, 


[      51      ] 

From  this  brief  consideration  of  the  phv. 
losophy  of  single  houses,  I  shall  pass  to  a  few 
remarks  on  the  general  construction  of  cities  - 


To  preserve  coolness  throughout  a  large 
city,  in  a  warm  climate,  the  buildings  should 
be  lofty,  and  the  streets  narrow.  This  remark 
is  not  the  less  true,  in  consequence  of  its 
opposition  to  popular  opinion.  For,  however  it 
may  be  in  matters  of  morality,  on  physical 
subjects,  common  opinion  is  generally  wrong- 


By  constructing  cities  in  the  above  man- 
ner, the  buildings,  by  their  loftiness,  would 
protect  the  streets  from  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
and  the  citizens  might  constantly  walk  in 
the  shade.  The  sun  beams  could  not,  from 
the  walls  and  windows  of  the  houses,  be  re- 
flected into  the  streets,  as  from  the  sides  of 
reverberating  furnaces.  They  would  be,  in 
a  great  measure,  intercepted  by  the  roofs  of 
the  buildings  and  thrown  back  again  into  the 
open  air.  In  a  word,  lofty  houses  and  nar- 
row streets  would  diminish  greatly  the  num- 
ber of  lateral  and  downward  reflectors  in 
large  cities,  and  could  not  therefore  fail  to 
diminish  proportionally  the  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere, 


C     52     ] 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  that  narrow 
streets  are  incompatible  with  free  ventilation. 
Air  will  circulate  as  freely,  in  an  avenue 
of  twenty  as  in  one  of  a  hundred  feet 
wide. 

It  is  even  true,  that  lateral  confinement 
increases  the  celerity  in  the  progressive  mo- 
tion of  fluids  and  gasses.  Hence  the  rapidi- 
ty of  currents  of  water  through  the  narrows 
of  rivers,  and  of  air  through  close  defiles  of 
mountains. 

Nor  will  the  narrowness  of  streets, 
provided  the  squares  of  a  city  be  not  cut  up 
by  lanes  and  alleys,  produce  an  eyxessive 
increase  in  the  number  of  houses.  If  the 
centres  of  the  squares  be  open,  and  abound 
in  vegetation,  there  will  be  but  little  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  the  closeness  of  buildings 
round  their  circumferences. 

It  is  to  be  lamented,  that  the  plan  of  the 
city  Washington— a  city  expressly  founded  as 
the  metropolis  of  a  great  nation,  (and  destined 
perhaps  to  empire  and  grandeur,  surpassing 
those  of  Carthage  or  Rome) — It  is  to  be  lament- 
ed,  I  say,  that  the  plan  of  this  city  is  so  illy  a^ 
danted  to  the  eenius  of  our  climate.  The  streets 
are  too  wide,  and  the  buildings  \oo  low,  to 


[      53      ] 

furnish  any  protection  against  the  solar  rays. 
This  unfortunate  error  can  be  remedied  only 
by  planting  the  streets  and  public  squares 
with  lofty  trees,  and  refreshing  the  city  by 
currents  of  water. 

Nor  will  even  this  precaution  act  as  a 
perfect  counterpoise  to  the  evil  in  question. 
It  is  however  the  only  practicable  resource  ; 
and  unless  it  be  adopted,  it  requires  no  spirit 
of  prophecy  to  foretell,  that  should  the  city 
Washington  ever  acquire  that  extent  and  po- 
pulation which  its  august  name  and  destina- 
tion promise,  the  summer  temperature  of  its 
atmosphere  will  be  but  little  below  that  of  the 
inhospitable  desert  of  Zaara. 

A  fault  in  the  general  arrangement  of 
Philadelphia,  greater  than  that  which  results 
from  the  construction  of  single  houses,  re- 
mains yet  to  be  mentioned.  It  relates  to  the 
undue  crouding  of  buildings,  and  to  certain 
improper  portions  of  ground  which  they  co^ 
ver. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned,  that 
agreeably  to  the  original  plan  of  the  city,  Wa- 
ter and  Penn  streets,  with  the  ground  from 
thence  to  the  Delaware,  were  to  have  remain* 
ed  free  from  houses.     The  deviation  from  th 


[    u    ] 

arrangement,  (a  deviation  prompted  by  a  spi- 
rit of  avarice,)  has  done  an  injury,  not  only 
to  the  appearance,  but  to  the  healthfulnes-s  of 
the  city.  The  truth  of  this  last  remark  is 
confirmed  by  recent  events,  which  the  distress 
that  accompanied  them,  has  imprinted  indelibly 
on  the  memory  of  the  public.  It  was  in  the 
fermenting  atmosphere  of  these  depressed 
situations,  that  the  seeds  of  our  late  epidemics 
were  chiefly  engendered. 

In  consequence  of  intersecting  every 
square  of  the  city  by  one  or  more  alleys, 
too  great  a  proportion  of  the  ground  is  cover- 
ed by  houses. 

Had  the  squares  been  built  on,  only 
round  their  four  sides,  and  had  their  centres 
been  cultivated  in  gardens  and  grass  plots  in- 
stead of  being  covered  by  clusters  of  houses, 
such  a  disposition  of  things  would  have  en- 
sured a  more  free  circulation,  greater  purity, 
and  a  lower  temperature  to  the  atmosphere  of 
our  city. 

It  is   further  to  be  lamented,    that  wc 
have  not  a  greater  number  of  public  squares 
and  walks,  planted  with  trees    and  shrubs, 
especially  as  such  an  arrangement  would  c 
tribute  equally  to  utility  and  ornament. 


[      55     J 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Philadelphia  have  been  fortunate  in 
selecting  the  Lombardy  poplar  and  the  willow, 
for  the  purposes  of  shading  and  ornamenting 
the  streets  and  other  parts  of  the  city.  I 
have  found,  by  numerous  experiments,  that 
the  leaves  of  these  beautiful  plants  surpass 
those  of  most  others,  that  grow  in  our  coun- 
try, in  the  quantity  of  vital  air  which  they 
emit,  when  under  the  influence  of  the  solar 
light. 

I  suspect  (though  it  will  be  observed 
that  I  mention  it  only  as  a  conjecture)  that 
the  plants  of  warm  regions  generally  are  supe- 
rior to  those  of  cold,  in  their  powers  of  pro- 
ducing re  spiracle  air.  These  powers  are  to 
be  regarded  as  the  effect  of  habits,  impressed 
on  the  plants  by  the  character  of  their  native 
climate,  and  are  wisely  calculated  to  answer 
the  exigencies  of  the  atmosphere  in  which 
they  grow.  For  as  the  causes,  which  tend  to 
contaminate  the  atmosphere,  are  more  power- 
ful in  warm  climates  than  in  cold,  so  should 
those  that  are  instituted  by  nature  to  restore 
its  purity. 

I  shall  close  the  consideration  of  those 
things  that  are  injurious  to  the  health  of  our 
citizens,  by  observing,  that  this  is  the  case  with 


C      56      ] 

.every  process  of  art,  (and  such  processes  are 
innumerable  in  large  cities)  which  tends  either 
to  rob  the  atmosphere  of  pure  air,  or  to  im- 
pregnate it  with  effluvia  of  a  deleterous  na- 
ture. 

Of  those  establishments,  that  have  for 
their  object  the  preservation  of  the  health  of 
our  city,  the  most  conspicuous  is  that  of  the 
water-works,  going  forward  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Mi\  Latrobe. 

The  completion  of  this  enterprize,  pro- 
vided certain  other  essential  parts  of  a  general 
health  system  be  made  to  co-operate  with  it, 
will  no  doubt  be  the  commencement  of  an 
32ra  auspicious  to  the  health  and  prosperity  of 
Philadelnhia. 


C    w    3 


SECTION     IV. 

OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  WITH  THE. 
MODE  OF  LIVING,  DRESS,  CUSTOMS,  AND  AliUSEMENT5j 
OF   ITS    INHABITANTS. 

uOME  time  having  elapsed  since  the 
census  of  Philadelphia  was  taken,  an  estimate 
of  the  present  number  of  its  inhabitants  must 
be  in  a  great  measure  conjectural.  It  may 
probably  be  fixed  at  about  seventy  five  thou- 
sand. 

This,  though  not  to  be  compared  to 
the  population  of  many  cities  in  the  old  world, 
is  notwithstanding  too  great  to  be  favourable 
to  health,  in  the  summer  season.  The  citi- 
zens therefore  whose  situation  and  circum- 
stances do  not  forbid  it,  should  always  take 
refuge,  from  the  summer  heats,  in  the  shades 
of  the  country.  By  such  a  step,  they  would 
not  only  adopt  the  best  means  of  preserving 
their  own  health,  but  would  also  avoid  all 
risque  of  injuring  others,  by  swelling  the 
catalogue  of  me  city  population. 

The  mode  of  living  of  the  Philadelphians 

is,  as  already  mentioned,  too  high,  particularly 

K 


C      53     ] 

for  the  warmth  of  our  summer  roonrns.  The 
extreme  intemperance  of  our  weather,  during 
that  period,  bespeaks  the  necessity  of  tem- 
perance in  man. 

To  use  large  quantities  of  stimulating 
aliment,  while  we  are  subject  to  the  action  of 
great  external  heat,  is  giving  powerful  aid  to 
the  natural  evils  of  the  season. 


The  abundance  of  flesh,  spirits,  Madeira, 
and  spices  of  all  kinds,  consumed  at  our  tables, 
during  warm  weather,  not  only  predisposes 
the  system  to  inflammatory  diseases,  but  acts 
at  the  same  time  as  an  exciting  cause. 

Such  a  mode  of  living  tends,  in  parti- 
cular, to  debilitate  the  abdominal  viscera,  by 
an  excess  of  excitement,  and  to  create  diseases 
with  a  marked  determination  to  these  parts. 
Of  this  description  are  our  fevers  of  summer 
and  autumn.  In  addition  to  the  general 
symptoms  of  disease  which  they  exhibit,  they 
seldom  fail  to  do  particular  violence  to  the 
viscera  of  the  abdomen. 

If  then  (as  experience  has  long  since 
proved  to  be  true)  high  living  is  calculated 


C      59     ] 

to  invite  disease  into  the  intestinal  region,  and 
if  this  region  is-  always  invaded  by  our  epide- 
mics of  summer  and  antumn,  have  we  not 
reason  to  consider  our  luxurious  mode  of  life, 
as  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  the  production  of 
these  evils  ? 


The  extreme  malignity  which,  for  the 
most  part,  characterizes  our  autumnal  disea- 
ses, when  they  invade  the  systems  of  habitual 
drunkards,  and  the  particular  violence  which, 
in  those  instances,  they  do  to  the  abdominal 
viscera,  afford  the  strongest  evidence  of  the 
dangers  incurred  by  habits  of  luxury.  For 
it  matters  not,  whether  the  predisposition  be 
induced  by  highly  stimulating  food,  or  an  ex- 
cess of  intoxicating  drink. 

It  is  not  a  little  surprising,  that  the  Uni- 
ted States  of  America,  where  the  human  in- 
tellect has  attained  as  high  a  degree  of  culti- 
vation as  in  any  other  part  of  the  globe,  is  the 
only  civilized  country,  where  the  inhabitants 
have  made  no  progress  toward  an  accommo- 
dation of  their  manner  of  living  to  the  nature 
of  their  climate,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  their 
seasons.  Even  the  ignorant  and  degraded 
inhabitants  of  Egypt,  have  the  sagacity  and 
prudence  to  confine  themselves  to  a  vegetable 


C    60    ] 

diet,  and  the  most  cooling  and  diluent  drinks, 
during  their  Khamsin,  or  season  of  hot 
soutiierly  winds. 

I  rejoice  in  being  able  to  congratulate  the 
citizens  of  Phi'adelphia,  on  their  partial  aban- 
donment of  a  certain  pustom,  calculated  to 
scatter  the  seeds  of  disease,  with  a  most  pro- 
digal hand.  I  allude  to  the  practice  of  eating 
meat  suppers,  accompanied  by  a  liberal  use 
$f  wine,  or  other  heating  liquors. 

This  custom,  once  (as  I  am  informed) 
almost  universal  in  this  place,  tends  to  la^  a 
foundation  for  gout,  apoplexy,  and  other  dis- 
eases of  the  human  system,  depending  on  a 
similar  diathesis.  Nor  does  it  only  predispose 
to  these  diseases,  but  frequently  acts  as  their 
exciting  cause.  How  often  do  those  persons, 
in  particular,  who  are  subject  to  apoplexy,  ex- 
perience an  attack,  on  retiring  to  rest  after  a 
plentiful  supper?  To  gout,  under  different 
forms,  the  same  remark  is  equally  appli- 
cable. 

A  physician,  of  the  first  reputation,  who 
has  practiced  in  Philadelphia  for  thirty  years, 
assures  me  that  his  calls  to  patients  suddenly 
attacked  in  the  night,  with  colic,  cholera, 
cramp,  and  other  diseases  of  the  alimentary 


C      61      ] 

canal,  have  diminished  in  frequency,  in  pro- 
portion as  the  citizens  have  abandoned  the  use 
of  this  pernicious  meal. 

•  I  have  been  farther  informed,  by  a  gen- 
tleman of  observation  and  respectability,  \ 
has  resided  several  years  in  Calcutta,  that 
since  the  Europeans  in  that  p'ace  have  relin- 
quished entirely  the  use  of  heavy  suppers, 
their  condition,  with  regard  to  health,  has 
been  greatly  ameliorated.  They  have  not 
only  been  more  exempt  from  actual  disease, 
but  have  also  suffered  much  less,  from  that 
languor  and  lassitude  so  generally  experien- 
ced by  those  who  remove  from  high  to  warm 
latitudes. 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  cur  late  hours 
of  dining  and  tea-drinking,  accompanied  by 
the  influence  of  good  sense  and  prudence, 
will,  in  a  short  time,  wholly  eradicate  what 
yet  remains  among  us  of  the  pernicious  custom 
in  question. 

It  was  remarked,  in  a  former  part  of  tills 
memoir,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia 
experience,  during  the  summer  months,  a 
tropical  temperature.  This  consideration 
alone  is  sufficient  to  convince  us  of  the 
necessity  of  adopting,    during  that  period,  a 


[      62      ] 

tropical  regimen.  But  such  a  regimen  (as 
both  nature  and  experience  have  long  since 
taught  us)  consists  not  in  "animal,  but  chiefly 
in  vegetable  food  ;  not  in  Madeira  and  ardent 
spirits,  but  in  light  wines,  malt  liquors,  lemon- 
ade, and  cider. 

Descended,  as  we  arc,  from  a  British 
ancestry,  and  having  kept  upi  at  all  times, 
a  close  and  extensive  intercourse  with  the 
mother  country,  it  is  not  surprising  that  we 
should  have  originally  adopted  and  long  re- 
tained a  variety  of  British  customs.  Nor  is 
there  any  point,  in  which  this  would  more  pro- 
bably be  the  case,  than  in  our  manner  of 
living. 

It  is  on  this  principle  of  imitation  alone, 
that  we  can  account  for  our  making  use  of 
such  a  large  proportion  of  animal  food.  For 
both  reason  and  nature  discountenance  the 
practice. 

It  is  surely  time  for  us  to  relinquish 
these  servile  habits  of  imitation,  and  become 
as  independent  at  our  private  tables,  as  we 
are  in  our  public  councils.  It  is  time  for  us 
to  begin  to  live,  not  in  conformity  to  the  cus- 
toms of  a  remote  nation,  dissimilar  in  its  cir- 
cumstances, but  in  a  manner  adapted  to  the 


[      63      ] 

climate  and  general  nature  of  our  own  coun- 
try. Finally,  it  is  time  for  us  to  learn,  that, 
though  in  the  insular  situation  and  beneath 
the  temperate  sky  of  Great  Britain,  the  inha- 
bitants can  indulge  themselves  with  impunity 
in  a  plentiful  use  of  animal  food,  this  is  not 
the  case  amid  the  fervid  temperature  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  foregoing  observations  relate  only 
to  our  summer  regimen.  In  cold  weather,  a 
free  use  of  animal  food  is  not  only  admissible, 
but  perhaps  necessary  to  enable  us  to  bear, 
without  injury,  the  inclemency  of  the  season. 
Our  appetite,  though  not  at  all  times  to  be 
fully  confided  in,  may  notwithstanding  serve 
us  as  something  of  a  guide  in  the  present  in- 
stance, In  summer,  it  is  observable,  that  our 
desire  for  a  diet  of  flesh  is  by  no  means  so  ur- 
gent as  in  the  winter. 

By  denying  us  such  an  abundance  of 
vegetables,  in  the  winter  months,  nature 
would  seem  to  give  a  farther  sanction  to  our 
use  of  animal  food  during  that  period. 

I  am  not  sensible  of  any  thing  in  the 
dress,  customs,  or  amusements  of  the  Phila- 
delphians,  peculiarly  calculated  to  produce 
disease. 


C      64      ] 

The  great  and  sudden  vicissitudes  of 
temperature  which  we  experience,,  render  it 
difficult  far  us  to  accommodate  our  clothing  to 
the  state  of  the  weather.  An  attempt  to  do 
this,  with  accuracy,  would  frequently  oblige 
us  to  change  our  dress  several  times  in  the 
course  of  the  same  day. 

Flannel  constitutes  part  of  the  clothing 
of  most  of  our  citizens,  during  the  winter 
season.  This  is  an  article  of  dress  highly 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  health,  in 
cold  climates.  Nor  is  it  without  its  uses 
even  in  tropical  regions.  By  keeping  up,  in 
such  countries,  a  due  degree  of  action  on 
and  discharge  from  the  surface  of  the  body, 
it  prevents  a  morbid  determination  to  the  ab- 
dominal viscera,  and  thus  preserves  them  from 
congestion  and  inflammation. 

The  Philadelphians  very  frequently  sub- 
ject themselves  to  disease,  both  by  neglecting, 

oo  late  in  the  autumn,  to  put  on  their  i 
nels,  and  by  laying  them  aside  too  early  in 
spring.     It  is  well  knowTn.  to  the  practitioners 
of  the  city,  that  omissions  and  errors  of 
kind,  by  producing  a  torpor  of  th<  check- 

ing perspiration,   and  giving  rise  to  a  centri- 
pitsl  form  of  action,    or  a  determination  to 


t     65      ] 

internal  parts,  are  instrumental  in  the  pro 
duction  of  many  of  our  vernal  and  autumnal 
fevers. 

Those,  whose  constitutions  are  delicate, 
and  their  health  easily  affected  by  changes  of 
weather,  should  in  this  climate  always  as* 
sume  their  flannels  before  the  autumnal  equi- 
nox, and  never  lay  them  aside,  till  the  latter 
end  of  May.  During  our  summer  months, 
muslin  and  not  linnen  should  constitute  the 
under  clothing  of  such  characters. 

I  shall  take  no  notice  of  the  attacks  of 
disease,  to  which  the  ladies  of  Philadelphia 
oftentimes  subject  themselves  by  the  light- 
ness of  their  clothing,  this  being  a  misfortune 
common  to  every  place,  where  females  are 
solicitous  to  display,  by  their  dresses,  the 
elegance  of  their  persons. 

Nor  do  I  think  it  necessary  to  mention 
the  mischiefs  that  frequently  result  (particu- 
larly to  the  youthful  classes  of  our  citizens) 
from  dancing,  swimming,  skating,  and  sleigh- 
ing. It  is  only  the  immoderate  or  improper 
use  of  these  amusements,  or  some  concomi- 
tant act  of  imprudence,  that  can  prove  in- 
strumental in  the  production  of  disease. 

L 


[     66      ] 

Osz  particular  relative  to  the  dresses  of 
the  ladies  of  Philadelphia  deserves  our  atten- 
tion, and  cannot  fail  to  excite  our  regret.  It 
is  their  servile  habits  of  imitating  foreign 
fashions.  These  habits  lead  them  sometimes 
to  the  adoption  of  dresses  wholly  unsuitable 
to  the  seasons  in  which  they  are  worn. 

London  and  Paris  are  the  oracles  of 
fashion  to  the  ladies  of  America.  It  frequent- 
ly however  happens,  that  the  fashions  do  not 
reach  this  country,  till  six  months  after  their 
establishment  in  those  cities.  Hence,  during 
the  severity  of  winter,  our  females,  instead  of 
endeavouring  to  accommodate  their  clothing 
to  the  temperature  of  the  season,  adopt  the 
same  light  and  airy  forms  of  dress,  which 
had  been  worn,  in  Britain  and  France,  du- 
ring the  heats  of  the   preceding  summer. 

This  unfortunate  preference  of  fashion 
to  reason  and  a  principle  of  accommodation, 
or  in  other  words,  to  common  sense,  in  dress, 
cannot  fail  to  prove  occasionally  destructive  to 
delicate  constitutions. 


Z     67     ] 


SECTION    V. 

CEKZaAL    INFERENCES    AND    REMARKS. 

JL  ROM  certain  facts  and  principles  laid 
down  in  the  preceding  sections  it  would 
seem,  that,  in  whatever  degree  large  cities 
may  facilitate  the  improvement  of  the  arts,  in 
whatever  degree  they  may  contribute  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  human  mind,  and  to  the  re- 
finement of  human  manners,  and  however 
necessary  they  may  be,  on  the  great  scale  cf 
commercial  arrangements,  yet,  when  consider- 
ed in  relation  to  their  effects  on  the  health  of 
man,  they  must  be  acknowledged  to  consti- 
tute an  evil  of  no  common  magnitude. 

This  appears  to  be  particularly  the  case 
in  Inland  situations,  and  in  middle  and  high 
latitudes,  subject  to  an  extensive  range  or 
temperature. 

It  is  perhaps  in  such  situations  only  that 
large  cities  can  exhibit  the  extent  of  their  pro- 
per influence,  in  the  production  of  disease.  It 
is  perhaps  in  such  situations  only  that  they 
can  make  a  full  display  of  the  power,  which 
they  posses,  of  forming  to  themselves  a  tropi 


[      68      ] 

atmosphere,  during  the  summer  season,  and 
of  giving  rise  to  genuine  tropical  diseases, 
while  the  surrounding  country  is  subject 
only  to.  those  of  an  inferior  grade. 

These  remarks  relate  exclusively  to 
the  summer  and  autumnal  seasons.  During 
the  winter  and  spring,  large  cities  are  no 
less  healthy  than  the  adjacent  country. 
Most  of  the  diseases  of  these  latter  sea- 
sons, originate  from  the  general  nature  of 
the  weather,  particularly  from  its  states  as 
to  moisture  and  dryness,  and  from  great  and 
sudden  vicissitudes  in  its  temperature.  From 
such  vicissitudes  and  their  effects,  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  country  are  no  more  exempt  than 
those  of  cities.  It  is  only  to  diseases,  which 
originate  from  a  warm  and  vitiated  atmosphere, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  cities  are  peculiarly  lia- 
ble. 

Although  it  is  true  that,  during  the 
prevalence  of  certain  highly  malignant  consti- 
tution cf  atmosphere,  pestilence  has  sometimes, 
even  in  temperate  climates,  become  epidemic 
in  country  situations  ;  yet  this  is  by  no  means 
a  common  occurrence.  History  informs  us 
of  but  few  periods  in  which  the  elements  have 
been  so  much  at  enmity  with  human  existence. 
The  evil  in  question,  being  a  condensed  epitome 


[      69      ] 

of  the  whole  range  of  febrile  disease,  is,  like 
the  consummation  of  moral  depravity,  the 
offspring  and  scourge  of  large  cities. 

Climate  and  its  effects,  instead  of  being 
always  produced  by  and  corresponding  with 
the  latitudes  of  places,  are  frequently  the  re- 
sult of  local  causes. 

The  principal  sources  to  which  writers 
on  this  subject  usually  ascribe  the  discordance 
that  frequently  exist  between  the  climates  and 
latitudes  of  places  are,  the  natures  of  soils, 
the  proximity  of  mountains,  forests,  deserts, 
or  extensive  bodies  of  water,  the  courses  of 
prevailing  winds  with  the  nature  of  the  coun- 
tries, over  which  they  have  passed,  and  the 
elevation  of  the  land  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean. 

But,  from  the  foregoing  sections  it  ap- 
pears, that  a  source  of  local  climate  equal  in 
power  to  either  of  the  above,  is  the  establish- 
ment of  large  and  populous  cities. 

If  lofty  mountains  can  create  an  artic  cli- 
mate within  the  bosom  of  the  tropics,  a  large 
city  can  produce  a  tropical  climate  and  many 
of  its  effects,  in  any  inhabited  portion  of  the 
globe.      If  a   Pinchinca  can  present  to  the 


C      70     ] 

burning  zone,  a  summit  venerable  from  the 
snow  of  ages,  a  Petersburg?!,  a  Moscow,  or 
a  Copenhagen,  can  prove  the  birth-place  of 
pestilence,  which  requires  for  its  origin  a  tro- 
pical temperature. 

Finally,  though  it  is  true,  as  already 
stated,  that  neither  human  wisdom  to  devise, 
nor  human  power  to  execute,  can  ever  render 
large  cities  as  favorable  to  health  as  country 
situations  ;  yet,  it  is  equally  true,  that  a  great 
proportion  of  the  calamities  which  they  surfer 
from  disease,  is  to  be  attributed  either  to  some 
fault  in  their  original  plan,  or  to  their  want  of 
wise  and  energetic  police. 

Of  the  truth  of  this  Philadelphia  furnishes 
incontestible  evidence.  For,  notwithstanding 
its  situation  and  summer  climate  are  both  ex- 
ceptionable, there  exists  not  a  doubt,  but  we 
are  chiefly  indebted  for  our  late  sufferings 
from  pestilence,  to  the  joint  operation  of  the 
two  foregoing  causes. 

The  latter  however  is  by  far  the  most 
powerful  and  formidable.  From  the  original 
imperfections  in  the  plan  of  our  city  we  have, 
comparatively  speaking,  but  little  to  appre. 
hend. 


C    7i    3 

Our  calamities  have  resulted  principally 
either  from  a  want  of  wisdom  in  our  police  to 
concert,  or  a  want  of  vigilance  and  energy  to 
enforce,  efficient  regulations  for  general  clean- 
liness, and  for  preventing  a  contaminated  state 
of  the  atmosphere. 

By  the  introduction  of  such  regulations, 
and  by  perseverance  in  them  to  a  proper  ex- 
tent, we  have  ground  of  assurance,  equal  to 
what  most  physical  subjects  afford,  that  Phila- 
delphia may  yet  enjoy  as  perfect  an  exemption 
from  disease,  as  is  compatible  with  the  estab- 
lisment  of  large  inland  cities. 


MEDICAL  £f  PHYSICAL 

MEMOIRS. 


C     75     ] 
MEMOIR    II. 


TACTS     AND     OBSERVATIONS      RELATIVE     TO     THE     ORIGIN 
AND    NATURE    OF    THE    YELLOW    FEVER. 


ADDRESSED    ?0    THE    ClflZEKS     OF    PHILADELPHIA. 
IN    "TEH    KVIZBERS. 


NO.       I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

FELLOW    CITIZENS, 

HE  origin  and  nature  of  our  late 
autumnal  epidemics  have  been  so  long  and 
so  repeatedly  the  theme  of  medical  discusion, 
that  they  might  be  supposed  to  have  already 
received  all  the  elucidation  that  genius,  learn- 
ing, and  industry  can  bestow.  Believing, 
however,  that  this  is  not  the  case,  but  that 
these  points,  so  interesting  to  science,  and  of 
such  immense  importance  to  the  welfare  of 
our  country,  are  still  capable  of  being  brought 
forward  under  a  form  less  questionable,  and 
placed  in  a  light  less  equivocal,  I  beg  leave  to 
make  them  the  subject  of  a  few  communica- 
tions. 


[    re    ] 

Were  the  particulars  on  which  I  mean 
to  address  you  of  private  or  inferior  con- 
cern— Did  rny  motives  originate  in  ambition 
or  party  spirit,  or  were  they  debased  by  any 
personal  or  selfish  considerations,  I  should 
think  myself  bound  to  apologize  for  presum- 
ing to  intrude  on  a  moment  of  your  time, 
But  conscious  of  being  influenced  by  no  views 
of  a  private  or  unworthy  nature — conscious 
that  my  only  object  is,  the  establishment  of 
truth,  connected  with  the  promotion  of  pub- 
lic good,  I  flatter  myself  my  attempt  to  be 
useful  will  meet  at  least  with  your  indulgence 
and  approbation,  and  my  numbers  be  favour-! 
ed  with  some  share  of  your  attention. 

Though  I  cannot  suppose  you  to  be 
much  interested  in  a  knowledge  of  the  char- 
acter and  history  of  an  anonomous  writer,  I 
think  it  notwithstanding  expedient  to  become, 
for  once  my  own  biographer,  and  trouble 
you  with  a  few  observations  respecting  my* 
self, 

Know,  then,  that  I  was  formerly  a  scep^ 
tic  with  regard  to  the  origin  and  nature  of  our 
autumnal  pestilence  ;  or,  to  speak  with  more 
correctness,  I  was  strongly  inclined  to  consi- 
der it  as  a  contagious  and  an  imported  diseajse. 
Having  had  no  opportunity,  however,  cf  i 


C    "    3 

serving  for  myself,  and  being  unwilling  to 
\o  make  the  bare  authority  of  others  my  only 
ground  of  conviction  in  matters  of  such  mo- 
ment, I  was  obliged  still  to  remain  in  a  state 
of  uncertainty  and  encrairy. 


While  engaged  in  the  investigation  of 
this  subject,  it  has  been  my  uniform  and  soli- 
citous endeavour  to  prevent  my  mind  from 
being  either  distracted  by  the  whirlwind  of 
passion,  or  swallowed  up  in  the  vortex  of 
.  party.  Preserving  myself,  as  far  as  practica- 
ble, calm,  collected,  and  unbiassed,  amid  a 
tumult  of  contradictory  assertions  and  conflict- 
ing opinions,  I  determined,  from  the  first,  to 
suspend  my  final  belief,  till  time  shouldfurnish 
me  with  facts  sufficiently  numerous  and  une- 
quivocal to  warrant  a  decision. 


In  the  epidemic  of  ninety  seven  this  oc- 
currence took  place.  During  that  period  of 
calamity,  facts  so  luminous  and  circumstan- 
ces so  weighty  obtruded  themselves  on  my 
observation,  as  convinced  me  that  my  origin- 
al suspicion  was  unfounded,  and  constrained 
me  to  believe,  that  the  disease  in  question 
was  not  imported,  and  was  but  very  rarely 
and  feebly  if  at  all  contagious, 


C     78     ] 

Nor  has  this  opinion  been  in  any  mea- 
sure shaken  by  subsequent  discoveries.  On 
the  contrary,  like  a  plant  in  a  fruitful  soil,  it 
has  become  more  and  more  strengthened  and 
confirmed  by  the  progress  of  time.  Every 
observation  I  have  made,  and  every  fact  I  have 
collected  respecting  the  origin  and  nature  of 
the  epidemics  of  ninety  eight  and  ninety  nine, 
have  contributed  to  its  farther  and  more  per- 
manent establishment. 


Some  of  these  facts  and  observations 
will  be  briefly  detailed  in  the  series  of  num- 
bers I  shall  have  the  pleasure  to  lay  before 
you. 

Though  the  following  communications 
will  appear  without  my  proper  signature,  yet 
this  circumstance  shall  not  be  considered  as 
giving  sanction  to  a  departure  from  decency, 
veracity,  or  candour.  Such  a  step  would  be 
no  less  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  gentleman, 
than  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  philosophy. 
Throughout  the  present  enquiry  I  will  be 
guilty  of  no  personal  invective,  with  a  view 
to  vilify  the  character,  to  kindle  the  resent- 
ment, or  to  violate  the  feelings  of  those  who 
may  differ  from  me  in  opinion.  I  will  assert 
nothing  as  a  fact  which  I  do  not  know  to  be 


C     79     ] 

true,  nor  will  I  advance  any  thing  as  an  opi- 
nion which  I  do  not  firmly  believe. 

Concealed  behind  the  curtain  of  a  bor- 
rowed name,  and  having,  in  my  present  char- 
acter, neither  personal  friends  to  conciliate,  nor 
enemies  to  dread,  I  shall  deliver  my  senti- 
ments in  their  genuine  form  and  colouring, 
unperverted  by  the  expected  favours  of  the 
one,  or  the  probable  frowns  and  opposition  of 
the  other.  Convinced  that  no  one  is  qualified 
for  the  investigation  of  physical  truth,  unless 
he  be  divested  of  prejudice  and  passion,  I 
shall  endeavour,  like  the  historian  and  philo- 
sopher, (but  without  aspiring  to  the  charac- 
ter of  either)  to  discuss  the  subject  before  me 
as  if  wholly  disinterested  in  the  objects  which 
it  embraces. 

Should  any  one  think  proper  to  reply  to 
my  observations,  I  hope  he  will  conduct  him- 
self with  equal  moderation,  candour,  and 
general  decorum,  and  in  all  respects  be  go- 
verned by  principles  equally  conscientious. 
I  shall  derive  pleasure  from  finding  my  facts, 
resonings,  and  opinions,  examined  on  their 
merit  by  a  writer  of  such  a  character. 

Leaving  to  you,  my  fellow  citizens,  to 
judge  of  the  propriety  of  the  foregoing  prin- 


t      80      ] 

tiples  and  professions,  as  well  as  of  the  stea- 
diness and  fidelity  with  which  I  may  adhere 
to  them,  I  shall  proceed,  in  my  subsequent 
numbers,  to  the  discussion  of  the  subject  pro- 
posed in  this. 


As  I  mean  to  take  a  survey  somewhat 
general  of  the  question  respecting  the  origin 
and  nature  of  our  autumnal  pestilence,  and 
also  to  suggest  certain  measures  for  the  pre- 
vention of  its  recurrence,  I  cannot  promise 
that  my  communications  will  be  either  few 
or  short.  Facts  may  pour  in,  conjectures 
may  present  themselves,  opinions  may  spring 
up,  and  thus  matter  be  accumulated  far  be- 
yond my  present  anticipation. 


But  however  reluctant  I  may  be  to  omit 
any  thing  that  may  appear  of  importance  to  the 
result  of  my  enquiry,  I  pledge  myself  to  my 
readers  to  avoid  all  trivial  and  irrelevant  dis- 
cussion. Should  any  of  my  numbers  prove 
unexpectedly  lengthy,  and  should  I  on  any 
occasion,  appear  to  speak  with  more  than  phi- 
losophic warmth,  I  hope  the  former  will  be 
attributed  to  the  copiousness  of  my  subject, 
and  the  latter  to  my  zeal  for  the  suppression 
of  error  and  the  propagation  of  truth. 


[     81     ] 

As  a  further  claim  on  your  indulgence 
and  attention,  permit  me  to  assure  you,  my 
fellow  citizens,  that  amid  the  numerous  tire- 
some and  illiberal  controversies,  to  which  the 
question  on  the  origin  and  nature  of  yellow 
fever  has  given  rise,  I  have  never  before  ob- 
truded myself  on  your  notice,  on  this  subject, 
through  the  medium  of  the  public  prints.  Nor 
shall  I  again  presume  on  such  a  measure,  un- 
less I  either  find  cause  to  renounce  my  pre- 
sent opinions,  or  become  possessed  of  such 
further  facts  and  arguments,  as  cannot  fail  to 
secure  their  universal  establishment. 


I  am  unwilling  to  conclude  my  introduc- 
tory address,  without  expressing  a  hope,  that 
an  enlightened  public  will  wait  till  my  series 
of  communications  shall  have  been  closed,  be- 
fore they  decide  on  the  question  at  issue.  A 
desire  in  my  readers  to  escape  the  charge  of 
prejudication,  cannot  fail  to  secure  me  this 
indulgence.  As  my  object  is  not  the  tempo- 
rary triumph  of  party  opinion,  but  the  deve- 
lopement  and  diffusion  of  physical  truth,  I 
will  then  attend,  with  pleasure,  to  the  remarks 
of  the  candid,  on  such  parts  of  my  observa- 
tions as  may  be  deemed  objectionable. 

N' 


[     82     ] 
No.    II. 

THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   THE    SUBJECT   OF  THESE   NUMBERS — * 

THE    INEFFICACY  OF    OUR    PRESENT    HEALTH-LAW THE 

VARIOUS  ABORTIVE  ATTEMPTS,  TO  TRACE  THE  YELLOW 
FEVER  OF  NINETY  NINE  TO  SOME  SOURCE  OF  IMPORTED 
CONTAGION. 


I 


N  entering  on  an  enquiry  relative  to 
the  origin  and  nature  of  yellow  fever,  I  feel 
myself  about  to  engage  in  an  attempt,  no  less 
solemn  than  difficult  and  interesting.  It  is 
solemn,  because  its  object  is  momentous,  em- 
bracing nothing  less  than  the  exemption  of 
the  human  species  from,  or  their  perpetual 
subjection  to,  one  of  the  heaviest  calamities. 
It  is  difficult,  because  it  leads  to  an  investiga- 
tion of  one  of  the  most  refined  and  abstruse 
branches  of  medical  philosophy.  And  it  is 
interesting,  because,  without  its  accomplish- 
ment, the  science  of  medicine  must  remain  for 
ever  incomplete. 

The  present  question,  then,  exhibits  no 
local  nor  temporary  aspect.  It  is  not  the 
health  of  a  particular  people,  nor  yet  the 
prosperity  of  a  given  period,  it  is  the  welfare 
of  every  nation,   and  the  comfort  and  happi- 


C     83     ] 

ness  of  every  age,  that  are   involved  in  its 


issue : 


If,  as  some  believe,  yellow  fever  is 
every  where  produceable  by  neglected  and 
putrefying  filth  alone,  it  can,  by  the  removal 
or  destruction  of  such  filth,  be  every  where 
prevented.  But,  if  it  is,  as  others  contend, 
the  natural  and  necessary  growth  of  certain 
regions,  capable  of  being  conveyed  to,  and 
propagated  in,  other  places,  by  means  of  con- 
tagion, it  is  an  evil  as  permanent  as  the  pre- 
sent system  of  nature.  Under  the  latter  view 
of  things,  as  well  might  we  endeavour  to 
countermand  the  droughts  of  Arabia,  or  the 
clouds  that  augment  the  waters  of  the  Nile, 
as  attempt  to  eradicate  from  our  globe  this 
wasteful  malady !  But,  relinquishing  general 
discussion,  I  must  confine  myself  more  parti- 
cularly to  the  epidemic  of  our  city. 

It  is  a  truth,  from  which  no  one  will 
withhold  his  assent,  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
actual  source  of  this  disease,  furnishes  the  only 
rational  ground,  for  the  establishment  of  regu- 
lations to  prevent  its  recurrence.  It  must 
be  admitted  as  a  truth,  almost  equally  obvious 
in  its  nature,  and  in  its  consequences  no  less 
interesting  to  humanity,  that  the  inefncacy  of 
the  present  health-law?  under  the  most  accur- 


ate  and  faithful  execution,  bespeaks  either  de* 
fieiency  or  error  in  its  fundamental  principles. 
To  trust  any  longer,  exclusively,  to  such  a 
feeble  and  fallacious  barrier  for  the  protection 
of  our  city  from  pestilence,  deserves  a  name 
more  unpopular  than  folly  !  Conduct  less  pro- 
ductive of -human  misery  has  been  oftentimes 
enrolled  in  the  catalogue  of  crimes ! 

In  advancing  these  sentiments,  I  neither 
feel  a  disposition,  nor  assume  a  right,  to  arraign 
the  motives,  which  have  actuated  either  indi- 
viduals or  public  bodies,  in  their  enquiries 
and  proceedings  on  the  subject  in  question, 
I  well  know,  however,  that  neither  rectitude 
of  intention,  nor  benevolence  of  heart,  can  se- 
cure us  at  all  times  from  error  and  misfor- 
tune. The  justness,  therefore,  of  the  princi^ 
pies  adopted,  and  the  wisdom  and  expedience 
of  the  measures  devised,  by  our  constituted 
authorities,  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  us 
from  pestilential  diseases,  are  points  which 
every  one  has  a  right  to  question  and 
examine. 

The  vital  principle  of  our  existing  healths 
law,  is,  the  supposed  impracticability  of  our 
autumnal  epidemics  originating  from  the  in- 
lluence  of  domestic  causes,  and  their  neces- 
sary importation  from  a  distant  climate.    As 


C      85      ] 

the  means  of  prevention,  which  it  directs,  are 
the  immediate  offspring  of  this  hypothesis, 
they  possess,  exclusively,  like  their  parent, 
an  external  relation.  Like  the  measures  of  a 
weak  and  inexperienced  statesman,  they  are 
directed  only  against  foreign  invasion,  while 
the  dangers  of  internal  faction   are  forgotten. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  the  instance  before  us,  will 
exhibit  a  lasting  monument,  how  unprofitable 
(not  to  say  how  destructive)  it  is,  for  men  to  at- 
tempt to  legislate  on  subjects,  with  the  nature 
of  which  they  are  wholly  unacquainted.  No 
remonstrance  on  the  fallacy  of  their  favourite 
principle,  no  representation  of  the  extent  and 
power  of  our  domestic  causes  of  disease,  could 
influence  this  body,  when  engaged  in  devising 
measures  that  were  to  protect  our  city  from 
the  calamities  of  pestilence.  Rejecting  the 
lights  of  modern  science,  either  as  the  specu- 
lations of  visionary  philosophers,  or  as  innova- 
tions  dangerous  to  the  reputation  of  our  coun« 
try,  and  deaf  to  the  voice  of  all,  except  the  ad- 
vocates of  foreign  importation,  they  gave  birth, 
to  a  law,  founded  on  a  very  partial  considera- 
tion of  their  subject. 

Coming  from  what   was   considered  as 
high  and,  respectable  authority,  this   instru- 


t      36      ] 

merit  could  not  fail  to  make  an  impression 
on  the  minds  of  the  unthinking.  It  is  to  be 
sincerely  lamented,  that  such  a  combination  of 
ignorance  and  error  in  physics,  as  appears 
on  the  face  of  it,  should  so  long  have  contri- 
buted to  render  the  public  incredulous  of  truth, 
and  so  long  have  diverted  their  attention  from 
their  interest  and  their  safety ! 

Considerations,  too  powerful  to  be  re- 
sisted, compel  me  to"  believe,  that  the  com- 
plicated distresses  and  sorrows  of  Philadel- 
phia, in  ninety  seven,  ninety  eight,  and  nine- 
ty nine,  were,  in  a  great  measure,  the  fruits 
of  a  supine  belief  in  the  necessary  importation 
of  our  pestilential  epidemics.  May  the  citi- 
zens of  Philadelphia  awake  from  this  delusive 
dream,  and  dissipate,  by  reflection,  these  sha- 
dows of  error,  before  the  channels  of  their 
commerce  be  obstructed,  before  the  sources 
of  their  subsistence  be  dried  up,  and  their 
city  be  reduced  to  a  waste  of  ruin ! 

The  present  (7)  is  a  period  uncommonly 
auspicious  for  the  establishment  of  truth,  re- 
specting the  origin  of  the  disease  in  question. 
During  the  late  epidemic  season,  such  a  pow- 


er) The  autumn  of  the  year  ninety  nine. 


r   87   ] 

erful  combination  of  facts  and  circumstances 
occurred,  as  have  already  produced  conviction 
in  the  minds  of  many  of  the  enlightened,  and 
are,  in  my  view,  sufficient  to  convince  even 
the  most  sceptical,  (unless  where  scepticism  is 
sealed  by  prejudice  or  interest)  that  this  evil 
is  the  product  of  domestic  causes, 

At  the  commencement  of  our  epidemics, 
in  former  years,  the  industry  of  a  few  indivi- 
duals was  able  to  discover  some  vessel,  which, 
in  consequence  of  one  or  more  of  her  crew 
being  indisposed,  or  having  died,  some  weeks, 
or  perhaps  months  before,  was,  without  suf- 
ficient examination,  suspected  by  marw  to  be 
the  source  of  our  calamity.  Nor  were  at- 
tempts, by  means  of  bold  and  unqualified 
assertions,  wanting,  to  convert  such  suspi- 
cion into  actual  belief.  Hence  arose  that  ap- 
parent equivocality,  which  was  always  attach- 
ed to  subsequent  enquiries,  and  hence  the 
public  mind  was  kept  constantly  immersed  in 
error,  or  at  best  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  and 
suspense. 

Fortunately,  however,  during  the  last 
season,  the  aspect  of  things  was  widely  dif- 
ferent. Neither  at  the  commencement  of  our 
calamity,  nor  at  any  succeeding  period  of  its 
progress,  did  a  single  vessel  appear,  which, 


t     83     3 

after  the  slightest  examination,  either  creduli- 
ty could  be  persuaded  to  regard  as  the  vehicle 
of  human  contagion,  or  even  prejudice  itself 
-  charge  with  having  imported  the  seeds 
of  the  disease.  To  a  few  vessels,  indeed,  busy- 
rumour  did  at  first  affix  a  momentary  suspi- 
cion. But,  it  was  only  necessary  to  institute 
an  enquiry,  and  all  suspicion  was  immediate- 
ly at  an  end.  The  Vessels  were  found  pure, 
and  the  crews  health)/,  except  a  few  disorderly 
and  dissipated  individuals,  who,  from  irregu- 
larity and  exposure,  had  contracted  disease 
after  their  arrival  in  our  port.  Nor  was 
this  disease,  in  a  single  instance,  communi- 
cated tffcthe  physicians,  nurses,  or  attendants 
of  the  sick.  Though  always  formidable,  of- 
ten fatal,  to  the  patients  themselves,  it  was 
innocent  with  regard  to  the  health  of  the  com- 
munity. 

In  proof  of  the  fallacy  and  confusion  of 
public  report  on  this  subject,  we  may  further 
observe,  that  scarcely  any  two  individuals  at- 
tached suspicion  to  the  same  vessel.  Some 
spoke  of  the  disease  having  been  introduced 
from  Leghorn,  some  from  Jamaica,  some  from 
the  Havanna,  some  from  Surinam,  and  some 
from  Hamburgh.  In  short,  there  Was  scarce- 
ly a  vessel  from  a  foreign  port,  however 
healthy,  and  in  whatever  latitude    the    port 


C      89      ] 

might  lie,  that  was  not  looked  on,  for  a  mo- 
ment, with  an  eye  of  suspicion. 

But,  to  raise  error  and  absurdity  to  their 
highest  pitch,  one  or  two  vessels  were  char- 
ged  with  having  infected  places  at  the  distance 
of  several  squares  from  where  they  lay, 
while  both  they  themselves,  and  their  imme- 
diate vicinity,  were  in  perfect  health.  Such 
were  the  misrepresentations  of  facts, 
and  the  enormities  committed  on  common 
sense  by  a  perverting  spirit  of  hypothesis ! 
And  such  the  solicitude  and  exertion  to  col- 
lect some  shadow  of  support  for  an  opinion, 
in  the  fate  of  which,  its  principal  patrons  fore- 
saw their  reputation  as  medical  philosophers 
involved ! 

At  length,  when  all  enquiries  after 
sickly  vessels  had  proved  abortive,  and,  un- 
der the  influence  of  repeated  disappointment, 
even  hope  itself  had  deserted  them,  on  this 
quarter,  some  of  the  partisans  of  importation 
had  '  recourse  to  another  expedient,  to  retard 
the  dissolution  of  their  beloved  doctrine. 
Leaving  entirly  the  vessels  in  the  harbour, 
where  every  thing  was  hostile  to  their  expec- 
tations and  wishes,  they  asserted  that  the 
disease  had  been  introduced  by  an  illegal  and 

O 


C      90      ] 

clandestine  intercourse,  between  the  city  and 
the  Lazaretto.  On  this  subject,  they  were 
careful  to  deal  only  in  general  and  indefinite 
assertions.  They  never  ventured  to  descend 
to  particulars,  conscious  that  such  a  step 
would  subject  their  surmises  and  fabricated 
stories  to  detection. 


But,  from  this  shallow  stratagem,  to  im- 
pose a  little  longer  on  the  credulity  of  their 
fellow  citizens,  they  can  derive  no  permanent 
advantage  to  the  principles  which  they  advo- 
cate. For  the  public  are  now  assured,  (and  of 
the  truth  of  this  assurance  the  most  indubita- 
ble testimony  can  be  adduced,)  that  not  a  case  of 
yellow  fever  appeared  at  the  Lazaretto,  last  sea- 
son(s),  till  after  the  commencement  of  its  lava- 
ges in  the  city.  Nor  did  any  one,  suspected  to 
have  kept  up  this  illicit  intercourse  with  the 
shipping,  during  their  performance  of  quaran- 
tine, suffer  from  such  conduct  an  attack  of 
disease — How  wretched,  then,  must  be  the 
cause,  or  how  impotent  its  advocates,  when, 
even  for  the  purpose  of  its  temporary  support, 
recourse  must  be  had  to  such  prevarication 
iind  mis-statement  j 


(?)  The  summer  an$  autumm  of  ninety  nijpe, 


t     91      ] 

From  several  conversations,  which  I 
have  lately  had,  with  different  members  of  the 
board  of  health,  I  am  rarthorized  to  go  still 
further  and  state,  that,  throughout  the  whole 
of  last  season,  they  had  not,  at  the  Lazaretto,  a 
single  case  of  yellow  fever  from  on  board  an 
inward  bound  vessel.  Every  case  of  this  dis- 
ease that  appeared  on  their  sick  list,  was  sent 
to  them  from  Philadelphia,  except  one,  which 
came  from  Port  Elizabeth,  in  New  Jersey* 
For  two  months  previously  to  his  attack,  this 
man  had  neither  been  in  Philadelphia,  nor 
had  any  communication  with  vessels  from 
abroad.  He  died  on  the  fourth  day  of  his 
illness,  with  the  most  marked  and  malignant 
symptoms  of  yellow  fever 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  a  secret  conscious*- 
ness  of  error,  accompanied  by  a  final  despair 
of  success,  will  deter  the  partizans  of  impor- 
tation from  a  further  pursuit  of  their  object ! 

It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that,  after 
the  advocates  of  the  foreign  origin  of  yellow 
fever  had  failed,  in  their  attempts,  to  disco-1 
ver  a  vessel,  either  in  port,  or  at  the  Lazaretto, 
in  which  contagion  could  be  supposed  to  have 
been  imported,  some  of  them  had  recourse  to 
a  mode  of  reasoning,  on  the  subject,  no  less- 
extraordinary  and  absurd,  than  their  research 


i     92     ] 

had  been  fruitless.  They  resolved  the  whole 
matter  into  a  kind  of  spurious  syllogism,  and 
said,  "  Because  we  have  enquired  and  satis- 
fied ourselves,  that  the  disease  was  imported 
in  ninety  three,  ninety  seven,  and  ninety 
eight,  it  follows,  of  necessity,  that  it  must 
have  been  also  imported  in  ninety  nine,  and 
therefore,  why  should  we  trouble  ourselves 
with  a  farther  enquiry  ?"  It  is  even  asser- 
ted, that  such  a  mode  of  reasoning  was, 
not  long  since,  introduced  into  the  college 
of  physicians,  and  acquiesced  in,  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  members  of  that  institution  ! 

It  is  to  be  lamented,  that  men  do  not  al- 
ways bear  in  mind,  that  neither  numbers  nor 
age — no,  nor  both  acting  in  concert,  can 
add  respectability  to  weakness  and  error ! 


J 


>Tc,     III. 


PESTILENTIAL     EFFLUVIA     GENERATED    IN   THE     HOLD     OF 
THE      SLOOP     MARY,        AFTER        HEr'     ARRIVAL      AT      OUK 

WHARVES FURTHER      REASONS      FOR     EELIEVING     THE 

YELLOW  FEVER  TO  3E  A  DISEASE  OF  DOMESTIC 
ORIGIN .PESTILENCE  CANNOT  BECOME  EPIDEMIC,  UN- 
LESS AIDED  BY  A  MALIGNANT  CONSTITUTION  OF 
ATMOSPHERE. 


A. 


XTHOUGH  I  have  expressed  my 
disbelief,  that  any  vessels  were  suffered,  last 
season,  to  pass  the  Lazeratto  in  a  foul,  sick- 
ly, or  infectious  state,  I  have  not  denied 
their  having  become  sources  of  disease,  sub- 
sequently to  their  entrance  into  our  port.  On 
the  contrary,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that, 
in  one  instance,  at  least,  this  occurrence  ac- 
tually took  place  ;  and  that  soirie  of  the  first 
Cases  of  pestilential  fever,  which  appeared  in 
Penn  street,  were  derived  from  a  vessel  of 
this  description.  I  allude  to  the  sloop  Ma- 
ry, sent  in  as  a  prize  to  the  ship  of  war, 
Ganges. 

This  vessel  came  to,  at  Willings'  and 
Francis*  wharf,  on  the  14th  of  May,  with  all 
her  crew   in  good  health,  and  with  a  cargo 


C    m    3 

of  coffee  perfectly  sound.  She  was  not  from 
a  sickly  port,  nor  had  any  of  her  people  been 
sick,  during  the  passage.  In  proof  of  these 
facts,  I  could  furnish,  were  it  necessary,  the 
affidavits  of  respectable  characters,  belonging 
to  the  vessel. 

As  soon  as  the  sloop's  cargo  was  dis- 
charged, and  the  hands  taken  from  on  board, 
her  decks  were  washed,  and  the  ports  and 
hatches  all  shut  down.  In  her  hold,  and 
among  her  timbers,  remained  a  quantity  of 
vegetable  matter  (chiefly  coffee),  with  which 
water  had  been  mixed,  at  the  time  she  was 
washed. 

In  this  state,  without  any  one  to  open 
her,  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation,  she  was 
suffered  to  lie  at  the  wharf,  during  about 
three  weeks  of  very  warm  and  dry  weather. 
The  result  of  such  a  situation  of  things,  it 
requires  no  great  extent  of  foresight  to  disco- 
ver. Imagination  can  scarcely  conceive  a  com- 
bination of  circumstances,  more  highly  fa- 
vourable to  the  putrefactive  process.  Nor 
was  it  long  before  this  process  rose  to  an 
uncommon  height. 

The  noxious  effluvia,  that  were  genera- 
ted, in  abundance,  having  no  vent  to  escape, 


C     55     ] 

V 

and  be  dissipated  in  the  atmosphere,  mingled 
with  the  air  in  the  vessel's  hold,  and  produced 
in  it  an  extreme  degree  of  vitiation.  A  smell, 
resembling  that  of  common  bilge  water,  but 
much  more  offensive,  became  troublesome  to 
those  engaged  about  the  wharf,  and  was  at 
length  traced  to  the  place,  where  the  Mary 
lay.  She  was  soon  suspected  as  the  source 
of  this  nuisance.  Her  ports  and  hatches 
were  accordingly  thrown  open,  when  the  foul 
air  rushed  out  in  torrents,  and  spread  through 
the  neighbourhood  a  suffocating  stench. 

Several  persons,  exposed  to  these  ex- 
halations, were,  in  a  few  days  afterwards, 
seized  with  decided  symptoms  of  pestilential, 
or  yellow  fever.  Of  these,  I  shall  mention, 
in  particular,  the  family  of  Mr.  M'Phail,  and 
part  of  the  crew  of  a  Hamburgh  vessel,  that 
lay  but  a  few  feet  distant  from  the  prize  sloop. 
Previously  to  this,  not  a  case  of  malignant  fe- 
ver had  appeared  in  that  neighbourhood. 

The  foregoing  facts  have  been  given  in 
detail,  because  they  are  considered  as  consti- 
tuting one  of  the  most  unequivocal  instances 
of  the  domestic  origin  of  yellow  fever.  They 
do  not  indeed  amount  to  demonstration,  this 
ultimatum  of  evidence  not  being  attainable  in 
the  science  of  medicine.     They  furnish  us, 


[      96      j 

however,  with  a  ground  of  belief,  equal  to 
that  which  forms  the  basis  of  most  of  our 
physical  opinions,  that  the  preceding  cases  of 
fever  were  derived  from  the  putrid  sub- 
stances, inclosed  in  the  hold  and  timbers  of 
the  Mary.  But,  if  this  disease  can  arise  from 
putrefaction,  in  the 'hold  of  a  vessel  at  our 
wharves,  the  same  process,  in  other  parts  of 
our  city,  cannot,  under  similar  circumstances, 
fail  to  be  productive  of  a  similar  result.  Nor 
is  there  any  thing  in  coffee,  which  can  render 
it,  during  the  putrefactive  process,  more  pecu- 
liarly deleterious  than  other  vegetable  sub- 
stances. 

IjEt  it  not  be  concluded,  from  the  fore- 
ng  statement,  that  I  consider  the  sloop  Mary 
as  the  sole  cause  of  the  epidemic,  which  made 
its  first  appearance  in  Petin  street,  and  its  vici- 
nity. The  utmost  power  of  this  vessel  could  ex- 
tend no  farther,  than  to  the  production  of  a  few 
sporadic  cases  of  disease,  which  would  have 
terminated  with  the  death  or  recovery  of  those 
attacked,  had  not  the  surrounding  atmosphere 
n  already  possessed  of  a  pestilential  consti- 
tution, and  contaminated  with  putrid  exhala- 
tion from  other  sources.  To  me,  the  disease 
appeared  to  be  propagated,  not  by  means  of 
contagion,  but  solely  through  the  medium  of 
vitiated  air.      Nor  could  this  vitiation  have 


[     97     ] 

been  produced  by  the  effluvia  arising  from  w 
single  vessel.  Such  an  extensive  effect  could 
not  have  proceeded  from  a  cause  more  cir- 
cumscribed, than  that  immensity  of  putrefying 
substances,  exposed  in  various  parts  of  our 
city.  That  general  vitiation  of  atmosphere, 
known  by  the  denomination  of  a  pestilential 
constitution,  must  result  from  causes  of  great- 
er extent  and  more  powerful  operation. 

I  am  further  confirmed  in  the  above  opi- 
nion, respecting  the  origin  of  the  disease  in 
question,  by  a  recent  determination  of  the 
board  of  health.  This  body  is  composed  of 
characters,  whose  conduct,  throughout  the 
whole  of  our  late  calamity,  bespoke  a  manly 
and  laudable  determination  to  think  for  them- 
selves. Their  decision,  therefore,  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  the  echo  of  those  with  whom  they 
associate,  nor  as  a  pusillanimous  acquiescence 
in  popular  sentiment,  but,  as  the  result  of  a 
rational  enquiry  after  truth. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  season, 
these  gentlemen  entered  on  their  official  duties, 
persuaded  (one  or  two  individuals  excepted) 
that  the  enemy  they  were  to  encounter  was  of 
foreign  descent.  Unblinded,  however,  by 
interest  or  prejudice,  and  deaf  to  the  sugp:cs- 


[      08      ] 

tions  of  parly,  conviction  had  still  an  avenue 
to  their  minds :  This  avenue  was,  faithful 
observation,  combined  with  the  most  dispasi- 
onate  reflection.  That  they  might  not  be 
misled,  either  by  voluntary  or  accidental  mis- 
representations of  facts,  they  resolved  to 
admit  nothing  on  the  credit  of  mere  report. 

Under  this,  resolution,  and  with  vigi- 
lance and  intrepidity,  that  have  never  been 
surpassed,  they  visited  and  enquired  into 
the  state  of  every  neighbourhood,  where  pesti- 
lence appeared,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the 
source  of  the  evil.  The  issue  of  three  months 
perseverance  in  this  painful  and  perilous  re- 
search, is,  an  unanimous  concurrence  of  the 
acting  members  of  the  board,  that  our  late 
epidemic  was  a  disease  of  domestic  origin. 
Nor  did  they  find  any  reason  to  believe  that 
it  was  propagated  by  contagion.  Had  our 
fellow  citizens,  at  large,  an  opportunity  equal- 
ly favourable  for  acquiring  information,  re- 
specting the  source  and  nature  of  our  autum- 
nal epidemics,  I  feel  confident,  they  would  be 
led  to  a  similar  belief. 

But,  the  preceding  are  not  my  only- 
reasons  for  believing,  that  yellow  fever  is  an 
evil  of  domestic  origin,  propagated  by  means 
of  a  vitiated  atmosphere.     An  additional  ar . 


[      99      1 

gument  in  favour  cf  such  an  opinion,  is  derived 
from  the  influence  of  the  weather,  in  suspend- 
ing and  checking  the  progress  of  this  disease* 

Were  it  imported  and  propagated  by  a 
cause,  so  permanent  and  indestructable  as  that 
of  specific  contagion,  it  would,  like  the  small 
pox  and  measles,  bid  defiance  to  the  air  of 
every  situation,  and  to  every  possible  vicissi- 
tude of  our  seasons.  It  would  not,  as  is  now 
the  case,  limit  its  terms  of  existence,  exclusive- 
ly, to  those  months,  during  which  the  atmos- 
phere is  impregnated  with  putrid  exhalations ; 
nor  would  it  confine  its  ravages  to  places 
abounding  with  vegetable  and  animal  filth. 
Like  other  truly  contagious  diseases,  it  would 
show  itself  in  every  situation,  and  in  every 
season. 

The  progress  of  yellow  fever  through  a 
city  or  country,  is  by  far  too  rapid  to  depend 
entirely  on  the  powers  of  contagion.  We 
will  select,  in  this  instance,  as  a  standard  of 
comparison,  the  small  pox,  acknowledged  to 
be,  of  all  diseases,  the  most  uniformly  and  cer- 
tainly contagious.  How  slow,  and  almost  im- 
perceptible is  the  spread  of  this  disease,  com- 
pared to  that  of  yellow  fever  ?  It  is  known 
that  the  latter  will,    in  two  or  three  weeks, 


overrun  an  extent  of  city,  which  the  forme? 
will  not  pervade,  in  twice  as  many  months. 

To  what  cause  can  such  a  remarkable 
difference  be  owing? — Certainly  to  this,  that 
the  small  pox  is  propagated,  only,  by  contagion, 
irom  the  sick  to  the  well,  a  source  of  disease 
which  most  persons  have  it  in  their  power  to 
avoid ;  while  yellow  fever  is  spread  by  a  viti- 
ated, or,  what  I  shall  here  term,  a  malignant 
atmosphere,  which,  being  a  common  medium, 

has  access   to  everv  one. 

•> 

The  progress  of  the  small  pox,  when  not 
epidemic,  (9)  can  be  arrested,  by  an  entire  inter- 
diction of  intercourse  between  the  sick  and  the 
well.      But  the  case  is  different  with  regard  to 


(*)  There  is  reason  to  believe,  that,  in  many  instances, 
not  only  in  the  countries  of  the  east,  but  in  Europe,  and  even 
in  America,  the  small  pox,  like  the  yellow  fever,  has  existed 
in  the  form  of  a  genuine  epidemic,  depending  #n  a  peculiar 
constitution  of  atmosphere,  heightened  perhaps  by  exhalation 
from  noxious  substances.  In  such  instances,  a  prohibition 
of  intercourse,  between  the  sick  and  the  well,  is  not  suiftcient 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  progress  of  the  disease.  The  variolous 
poison,  not  indebted  for  its  existence  solely  to  disordered  secre- 
tion in  the  human  body,  but  formed,  on  an  extensive  scale,  by 
a  certain  morbid  arrangement  of  the  elements,  impregnates 
the  general  atmosphsre  of  the  place  where  it  prevails,  and  suf- 
f<  rs  no  one  to  escape,  -who  is  susceptible  of  its  action.  The 
only  mean  of  safety,  is,  an  immediate  removal  from  the  epide- 
mic region. 


[    v»    ] 

the  yellow  fever.  The  seeds  of  this  disease 
hover  unseen,  in  the  atmosphere,  at  large, 
and  attack  us,  with  as  much  certainty  in  the 
streets,  as  in  the  sick-rooms  of  our  friends. 

The  last  argument  I  shall  advance  in 
support  of  my  opinion,  is,  the  concurring 
belief  of  most  of  my  enlightened  fellow  citi- 
zens, in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  that 
has  been  lately  visited  by  our  autumnal  pes- 
tilence. To  this  observation  Philadelphia 
presents  the  only  exception.  To  the  injury 
and  disgrace  of  this  celebrated  nursery  of  li- 
terature and  science,  it  is  sinking  into  the  ul- 
timate retreat  of  that  exploded  error,  which 
directs  us  to  foreign  regions,  in  quest  of  the 
origin  of  yellow  fever. 

Enlightened  strangers,  who  visit  this 
place,  and  whose  interests  can  be,  in  no  mea- 
sure, affected  by  the  issue  of  the  controversy, 
never  fail  to  become  advocates  for  the  doc- 
trine of  domestic  origin,  when  furnished  with 
the  facts  and  arguments  on  both  sides  cf  the 
question. 

I  hold  the  epidemic  of  last  season,  then, 
to  have  had  no  connection  with  imported  con- 
tagion. It  appears  to  have  been,  as  in  former 
years,  the  offspring  of  a  pestilential  constitu- 


I      102      ] 

tion  of  our  atmosphere,  heightened  by  ex 
lation  from  our  numerous  domestic  sources 
of  putrefaction.  Without  the  aid  of  the  latter 
cause,  the  former  would  be  inadequate  to 
the  production  of  pestilence,  and  without  the 
co-operation  of  the  former,  the  latter  would 
give  origin  only  to  sporadic  cases. 

How  long  this  pestilential  constitution  of 
our  atmosphere  may  continue,  is  a  matter  im- 
possible  for  man  to  predict.  It  is  the  effect  of 
'physical  causes,  which  at  present,  philosophy 
is  unable  to  fathom,  and  will  terminate,  only, 
in  obedience  to  certain  laws  of  nature,  not 
yet  subjected  to  human  controul.  Its  continu- 
ance has  been,  in  different  instances,  from 
two  years  to  half  a  century,  and  its  extent, 
sometimes  over  one  nation,  only,  sometimes 
over  two  or  three,  and,  at  other  times,  over 
nearly  half  the  globe.  There  is  reason  to 
believe,  that  the  latter  ic,  in  some  measure, 
the  case,  at  the  present  time.  In  several 
parts  of  Europe,  remote  from  the  theatre  of 
war,  disease  has  been,  for  some  years  past, 
uncommonly  malignant.  The  countries  of 
the  east  have  been,  of  late,  extensively  rava- 
ged by  pestilence.  In  ninety  three,  the 
yellow  fever  made  it  first  appearance  in 
Philadelphia.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable, 
that,  in  the  same  year,    the  plague,    for  the 


C      103      ] 

first  time  since  the  early  part  of  the  pre- 
sent century,  began  its  devastations  in  the 
Barhary  states.  Since  that  period,  it  has 
nearly  depopulated  about  two  thirds  of  the 
empire  of  Morocco.  Such  a  striking  coin- 
cidence of  time,  certainly,  affords  some 
evidence  of  a  community  of  cause. 

Our  power,  with  respect  to  the  consti- 
tution of  atmosphere  in  question,  extends  no 
farther,  than  to  the  correction  or  removal  of 
such  sources,  as  co-operate  with  it  in  the 
production  of  disease. 

From  the  occurrence  of  this  malignant 
constitution,  aided  by  an  accumulation  of  their 
own  domestic  filth,  most  of  the  large  and 
populous  cities  of  Europe  have  experienced 
occasional  visitations  of  pestilence.  I  may 
instance,  in  particular,  Rome,  London, 
Paris,  Marseilles,  Amsterdam,  Lisbon,  Mad- 
rid, and  Moscow.  In  consequence,  however, 
of  a  favourable  change  in  the  atmospheres  of 
these  places,  and  their  adoption  of  wise  and 
salutary  regulations  for  the  promotion  of 
cleanliness,  they  have  been  exempt  from 
this  calamity  for  nearly  a  century. 

Let    the    inhabitants    of    Philadelphia, 
'then,    console    themselves   under    the     pro- 


[      104      ] 

spect,  that  their  present  sufferings  are  not 
to  be  perpetual,  but,  that  from  a  combination 
of  circumstances,  similar  to  the  above,  their 
city  may  yet  experience  a  change  of  fortune 
equally  auspicious  ! 


No.     IV. 

AN  ENUMERATION  AND  ACCOUNT  OF  OUR  DITFEREXT 
SOURCES  OF  PESTILENTIAL  AIR  IN  THE  CITY  OT 
PHILADELPHIA. 

JL  COME,  now,  to  the  most  important, 
because  it  is  the  most  practical  part  of  my 
subject.  I  shall  attempt,  in  the  present 
number,  to  unfold  some  of  the  various  causes, 
which  co-operate  in  the  production  of  our  au- 
tumnal epidemics.  As  minuteness,  in  the 
present  instance,  would  lead  me  far  beyond 
my  intended  limits,  I  must  confine  my  at- 
tention to  such  sources  of  disease,  as  ap- 
pear  the   most  dangerous. 

Demosthenes,  by  the  irresistable  ener- 
gy of  his  elocution,  proved  the  guardian    of 


t      105     ] 

Athens  from  foreign  conquest.  Cicero,  by 
the  power  of  a  splendid  eloquence,  became 
the  saviour  of  Rome  from  internal  faction. 
Had  I  the  talents  and  qualifications  of  both, 
I  would  think  them  well  expended,  in  an  at- 
tempt to  preserve  Philadelphia  from  pesti- 
lence. But,  though  such  powers  be  wanting, 
an  effort  shall  be  made  with  the  resources 
I  possess. 

Our  domestic  sources  of  pestilential 
effluvia,  no  less  offensive  to  the  senses  than 
injurious  to  health,  have  already  been  the 
subject  of  repeated  specification  and  remon- 
strance. I  beg  leave  to  press  them,  once  more, 
on  the  serious  attention  of  my  fellow  citizens. 
They  are, 

I.  Our  docks  and  wharves.  It  would 
perhaps  puzzle  the  ingenuity  of  man,  to  con- 
struct places  better  calculated  than  these,  for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  the  putrefactive 
process,  during  the  summer  and  autumnal 
'months. 

The  timber  of  which  they  are  built, 
running  constantly  into  a  state  of  dissolution, 
is  itself  an  abundant  source  of  pestilential 
exhalation.     This  evil   can  be  remedied  only 

Q. 


t     106    3 

by  removing  this  mass  of  perishable  matter, 
and  supplying  its  place  with  stone,  which, 
from  its  cleanliness,  will  not  be  unfavourable 
to  health,  and,  from  its  disability,  will  finally 
prove  an  article  of  less  expense. 

Besides  the  vast  quantities  of  putrefiable 
substances,  deposited  in  our  docks  and  along 
our  wharves,  by  means  of  commerce,  these 
places  are  necessarily  the  recepticles  of  an 
immensity  of  filth,  washed  down  by  the  wa- 
ters, in  their  descent  from  the  higher  grounds 
of  the  city.  The  remedy  for  this  evil  appears 
to  be,  either  to  sink  the  bottoms  of  the  docks, 
so  that  they  may  be  always  covered  with  wa- 
ter, or  to  pave  them  with  flag-stone,  to  such  a 
distance  from  their  edges,  and  construct  them, 
at  the  same  time,  with  such  a  descent,  that  all 
noxious  matters,  collected  there,  may  be  wash- 
ed beyond  low  water  mark,  and  swept  away 
by  the  current  of  the  river. 

Under  this  head,  another,  and  perhaps 
a  less  costly  expedient  may  be  mentioned, 
namely,  to  fill  up  our  docks  entirely,  and  con- 
vert the  whole  landing  place,  in  front  of  the 
city,  into  one  straight  continued  wharf  or 
quey,  walled  up  with  stone  instead  of  wood. 
A  few  spacious  docks  might  then  be  consruct- 


C      107     ] 

cd,  either  above  or  below  the  city,  to  protect 
our  shipping  from  ice  during  the  winter. 


The  offensive  smell  emitted,  in  warm 
weather,  even  by  our  most  cleanly  docks  and 
wharves,  in  their  present  state,  is  a  proof  that 
they  contribute  to  vitiate  the  atmosphere, 
There  exists  not  a  doubt,  but  that  the  late 
epidemic  of  Southwark,  which  made  its  first 
appearance  in  Water  between  Christian  and 
Queen  streets,  originated  principally  from  the 
exhalation  of  a  foul  and  extensive  dock,  con- 
tiguous to  the  Still-house  wharf.  Though 
several  vessels,  from  the  Havanna,  lay  in  that 
neighbourhood,  and,  though  much  weight  is 
attached  to  this  circumstance,  by  those  who 
advocate  the  doctrine  of  importation,  yet,  as 
the  crews  of  those  vessels  arrived  in  perfect 
health,  as  the  vessels  themselves  were  clean- 
sed, and  rode  quarantine  at  the  Lazaretto,  and 
as  those  who  had  most  communication  with 
them  were  not  more  sickly  than  others,  we 
are  bound  to  exonerate  them  from  the  charge 
of  having  introduced  a  contagious  disease.  It 
was'not  till  after  the  crews  of  these  and  seve- 
ral other  vessels  had  been,  for  a  considerable 
time,  expose^  to  exhalation  from  the  above 
dock,  that  thdy  sickened,  in  common  with  the 
citizens  who  lived  in  the  neighbourhood. 


C      108      ] 

The  most  plausible  and  popular  argu- 
ment, advanced  by  the  advocates  of  importa- 
tion, in  favour  of  their  hypothesis,  is,  that  the 
yellow  fever  has  always  appeared  first,  as 
an  epidemic,  in  situations  near  to  the  river. 
This  circumstance,  however,  admits  of  an 
easy  and  satisfactory  explanation,  from  the 
fact,  that  our  docks  and  wharves  contain  much 
more  putrefying  matter,  exposed  to  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  than  an  equal  extent  of  surface,  in 
any  other  part  of  the  city,  and  are,  therefore, 
more  abundantly  productive  of  pestilential 
air. 

II.  The  foul  air  of  ships.  This  source 
of  exhalation  is  so  notorious  for  giving  rise  to 
pestilential  fevers,  in  warm  climates,  that,  to 
dwell  on  its  farther  confirmation,  would  be  a 
waste  of  time.  Facts,  amounting  to  unequi- 
vocal evidence,  on  this  subject,  may  be  col- 
lected from  most  writers  on  the  diseases  of 
seamen. 

The  evil  may  be  remedied  by  compelling 
all  vessels  to  carry  ventilators,  and  obliging 
such  of  them  as  are  laden  with  perishable 
articles,  during  warm  weather,  to  be  dischar- 
ged, to  have  their  cargoes  examined  and  aired, 
and  to  be,  themselves,  thoroughly  cleansed, 
before  entering  our  port. 


[      109      ] 

These  measures  maybe  executed,  at  a 
trifling  expence,  and  without  imposing  such 
oppresive  shackles  on  the  commerce  of  cur 
city,  as  to  drive  it,  eventually,  into  ether  chan- 
nels. 

I  shall  close  this  article,  by  observing, 
that,  were  due  attention  paid  to  the  cleansing 
of  foul  vessels,  and  to  the  purification  or  de- 
struction of  damaged  cargoes,  I  cannot  help 
thinking  the  quarantine  of  sickly  crews,  as  far 
as  yellow  fever  is  concerned,  would  be  a 
very  unnecessary,  not  to  say  an  inhumane 
measure. 

III.  Dirty  yards,  cellars  and  privies. 
In  a  oty  as  extensive  and  populous  as  Phi- 
ladelphia, these  are  sources  of  immense  exhala- 
tion. They  have  been  known  to  produce 
cases  of  yellow  fever,  even  in  the  depth  of 
winter,  and  must  greatly  increase  our  epide- 
mics of  summer  and  autumn.  They  should 
be  subject  to  the  inspection  of  officers  of  po- 
lice, and,  when  neglected,  their  cleanliness 
should  be  inforced  by  the  the  imposition  of 
fines. 

Besides  the  influence  of  our  privies,  in 
injuring  the  atmosphere  by  exhalation,  they 
have  also,  an  effect  in  contaminating  the  wa- 


C    no    ] 

ters  of  our  pumps.  These  serve  as  an  addi- 
tional medium  for  conveying  their  poisonous 
particles  into  our  systems,  and  are,  probably, 
instrumental  in  the  production  of  disease.  Un- 
der the  disadvantage  of  their  present  construc- 
tion, I  am  sorry  to  observe,  that  our  privies 
constitute  a  nuisance  not  easily  remedied. 


In  confirmation  of  the  latter  part  of  this 
article,  I  beg  leave  to  mention  the  following 
important  fact,  for  the  knowledge  of  which  I 
am  indebted  to  the  observation  and  politeness 
of  Mr.  Latrobe. 


In  sinking  the  foundations  of  the  Bank 
of  Pennsylvania,  the  pits  of  twelve  necessa- 
ries (eight  of  them  old  ones)  were  dug  into 
by  the  labourers.  On  removing  from  these 
sinks  their  putrid  contents,  and  filling  them 
up  with  clean  and  solid  masonry,  the  waters 
of  several  neighbouring  wells  were  remarkably 
improved.  The  water  of  one  well,  in  par- 
ticular, belonging  to  the  city-tavern,  which 
had  long  been  offensive  and  unfit  for  use, 
became,  in  a  short  time,  sweet  and  potable. 
This  well  is  situated  at  a  short  distance,  in 
a  south-easterly  direction,  from  the  founda- 
tions of  the  bank. 


t    "1   3 

IV.  Our  common  sewers.  In  the  pre- 
sent state  of  things,  these  may  be  ranked 
among  the  worst  of  our  pestilential  sources. 
Being  the  conduits  of  filth  from  every  part  of 
the  city,  much  of  their  contents  must  be, 
necessarily,  deposited  by  the  way,  owing  to 
their  deficient  supply  of  water. 

Provided  the  docks  be  at  the  same 
time  altered,  as  already  recommended,  this 
evil  will  be  remedied,  by  the  completion  of 
the  present  plan  for  watering  our  city. 

But,  if  the  docks  be  suffered  to  remain 
as  they  now  are,  and  streams  of  water  be 
thrown  through  the  sewers,  the  filth  remo- 
ved from  the  latter,  will  be  then  deposited  in 
the  former  places,  and  will  contribute  to  in- 
crease exhalation  along  our  wharves. 

V.  Our  gutters  and  alleys.  The  for- 
mer of  these,  though  less  offensive  than  they 
were  some  years  ago,  are  still  the  repositories 
of  much  putrid  matter,  which  bears  a  part 
in  the  vitiation  of  the  atmosphere.  They 
might  be  kept  perfectly  clean,  by  the  waters 
of  our  pumps,  were  the  persons,  employed 
for  that  purpose,  sufficiently  attentive  to  their 
duty. 


[      112      ] 

As  to  alleys,  their  very  existence  is  to 
be  lamented,  and  bespeaks  a  defect  in  the 
original  plan  of  Philadelphia.  In  all  large 
and  populous  cities,  besides  being  the  bane 
of  ornament,  they  are  too  frequently  the  re- 
ceptacles and  sources,  no  less  of  moral  than 
of  physical  evil.  With  us  their  filth  fur- 
nishes the  most  forcible  and  disgusting  evi- 
dence, either  of  the  impracticability  of  keeping 
them  clean,  or  of  the  delinquency  of  those  to 
whom  this   important  business  is   entrusted. 

Though  it  is  scarcely  to  be  expected, 
that  the  buildings,  which  now  form  our  al- 
leys, will  be  demolished,  it  is  certainly  a 
desirable  thing,  that  no  more  in  future,  be 
erected  in  such  places.  On  each  occurrence 
of  yellow  fever,  in  Philadelphia,  these  offen- 
sive situations  appeared  to  furnish  the  best 
fuel  for  the  support  of  its  devouring  flame. 

VI.  Collections  of  filth  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  city.  Neither  the  putrid 
substances  removed  from  our  streets,  nor 
even  the  contents  of  privies,  are  conveyed 
to  a  sufficient  distance,  to  secure  us  against 
their  pestilential  effluvia. 

It  is  not  yet  ascertained,  with  precision, 
how  far  these  exhalations  will  extend;  but.  to 


C      113     ] 

ensure  safety,  the  substances  which  emit 
them,  should  be  removed,  at  least,  a  mile 
from  the    limits    of  the    city    and  libertiesi 

Under  this  head  must  be  comprised 
certain  offensive  ponds  of  water,  still  suf- 
fered to  exist  in  the  out-skirts  of  the  city. 

VII.  Public  burying-grounds.  In  no 
instance  does  our  police  betray  a  greater 
want  of  wisdom,  than  in  suffering  these  nu- 
merous and  extensive  repositories  of  dead 
bodies,  to  continue  in  the  central  parts  of 
our  city.  In  no  instance,  perhaps,  is 
the  wisdom  of  former  ages,  more  worthy 
of  our  imitation,  than  in  having,  wholly  distinct 
from  each  other,  what  were  then  denomina- 
ted living  and  dead  cities  ;  the  latter  consis- 
ting of  places,  without  the  walls  of  the  for- 
mer, destined,  exclusively,  for  the  interment 
of  the  dead. 

That  such  immense  masses  of  putrefy- 
ing animal  matter,  must  tend  to  contaminate 
both  the  air  and  the  water  of  their  respective 
neighbourhoods,  is  a  truth  too  obvious  to  re- 
quire illustration.  If  a  powerful  army  was 
destroyed  by  pestilence, -in  consequence  of  en- 
camping on  an  antient  burying- ground,  before 

R 


C    u*    ] 

the  walls  of  Carthage,  surely,  in  Philadelphia, 
where  the  summer  heats  are  no  less  intense, 
similar  receptacles  of  human  exuvia  cannot  fail 
to  be  inimical  to  health. 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  a  remembrance 
of  our  past  sufferings,  and  a  wish  to  prevent 
their  future  recurrence,  will  lead  to  a  removal 
of  such  palpable  evils. 

VIII.  The  covering  our  houses  with 
shingles.  These,  in  common  with  all  other  ve- 
getable substances,  are  of  a  putrefiable  nature, 
and,  in  their  constant  tendency  to  dissolution, 
cannot  fail  to  assist  in  contaminating  the  atmos- 
phere. Though  this  is  an  evil  of  a  feeble  nature, 
compared  to  others  already  mentioned,  it  de- 
serves notwithstanding  to  be  taken  into  the 
account,  in  summing  up  the  causes,  that  con- 
tribute to  vitiate  the  atmosphere  of  our  city, 
and  to  render  it  different  from  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  country. 

The  remedy  for  this  is,  the  substitution 
x>f  tile,  slate,  or  sheet-lead,  in  place  of  the  ma- 
terials now  in  use. 

IX.  Stables,  shambles,  and  slaughter- 
houses. Though  it  is  said,  that,  in  times  of 
epidemic   sickness,    the    inhabitants   in    the 


C      X15     ] 

neighbourhood  of  such  places  have  been 
known  to  remain  unusually  healthy,  I  con- 
ceive these  occurrences  to  be  wholly  acciden- 
tal. The  processes  that  go  forward  in  them, 
are  such  as  must  necessarily  diminish  the  pu- 
rity of  the  atmosphere. 

They  should  be  subjected  to  the  most 
strict  regulations  of  cleanliness,  or  removed 
to  a  distance  from  the  inhabited  parts  of 
the  city. 

X.  The  last  source  of  exhalation  I  shall 
mention,  is,  an  undue  crouding  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  city. 

This  is  one  reason,  among  many,  why 
epidemics  generally  appear  first,  and  rage 
with  most  violence,  among  the  poor,  where 
numbers  frequently  reside  in  the  same  confi- 
ned apartment. 

The  perspirable  efrluvia  of  human  bo- 
dies, like  all  other  descriptions  of  animal  mat- 
ter, are  liable,  after  their  elimination  from  the 
system,  to  undergo  the  putrefactive  process. 
Hence  results  the  pestiferous  exhalation,  with 
which  they  contribute  to  load  the  atmoS' 
phere. 


C      115      I 

To  obviate  this  evil,  as  far  as  possible,  all 
those  whose  circumstances  will  admit  of  it, 
should  pass  their  summers,  and  part  of  their  au- 
tumns, in  the  country,  and,  on  the  first  appear- 
ance of  an  epidemic,  provision  should  be 
made  for  an  immediate  removal  of  the  poor, 


No.     V. 

A  FEW  ADDITIONAL  MEASURES  RECOMMENDED  "FOR  ASSI- 
MILATING THE  ATMOSPHERE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  PHILA- 
DELPHIA,   TO   THAT   OF  THE   COUNTRY. -THE    PROPRIETY 

OF  AN  ALTERATION  IN  THE  SUMMER  DIET  OF  THE  CI- 
TIZENS  THE     DOCTRINE     OF     DOMESTIC    ORIGIN,    WHEN 

PROPERLY  .UNDERSTOOD,  LESS  INJURIOUS  TO  THE  INTER- 
EST AND  REPUTATION  OF  OUR  CITY,  THAN  THAT  OF 
IMPORTATION. 


B 


>UT,  the  regulations  recommended,  in 
the  preceding  numbers,  are  not  alone  suffi- 
cient to  ensure,  to  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia, 
the  highest  practicable  chance  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  health.  In  addition  to  these,  various 
others  must  be  adopted  to  assimilate  the  at-. 


[      117     ] 

mosphere  of  our  city,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
that  of  the  country. 

For  this  purpose,  our  streets,  and  the 
roofs  and  sides  of  our  houses,  should  be  fre- 
quently and  plentifully  watered,  during  the 
warmth  of  the  summer  and  first  of  the  au- 
tumnal months.  This,  by  its  evaporation, 
would  moderate  the  intensity  of  the  heat,  so 
essential  to  the  progress  of  the  putrefactive 
process,  and  would  also  absorb  some  of  those 
noxious  airs,  which  diminish  by  their  presence 
the  purity  of  the  atmosphere.  Like  the  cold  bath 
to  the  human  body,  it  would  tend  to  cleanse 
the  fluid  of  respiration,  and  to  render  it  more 
fit  for  the  purposes  of  life. 

Trees  should  be  planted  in  all  our  pub- 
lic squares  and  walks,  and  at  convenient 
distances  along  our  streets.  These,  by  their 
foliage,  would  not  only  intercept  the  rays  of 
the  sun,  and  protect  our  houses,  pavements, 
and  persons,  from  their  action,  but  by  their 
known  property  of  devouring  foul,  and  se- 
creting pure  air,  would  counteract  the  contami- 
nation of  the  medium  which  we  breathe.  If 
the  cutting  down  of  trees  has  been  known  to 
give  rise  to  bilious  fevers,  which  had  not  be- 
fore an  existence,  it  is,  at  least,  presumeable, 
on  principles  of  analogy,  that  the  planting  o£ 


C      113      ] 

them  must  have  some  influence,  in  era- 
dicating the  same  disease  from  places  where 
it  prevails. 

On  the  same  principle,  I  also  beg  leave 
to  recommend  the  cultivation  of  gardens  and 
grass-plots,  in  all  parts  of  the  city,  convenient 
for  such  purposes* 

Nor  should  any  land,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  city,  be  suffered  to  lie  in  an 
unimproved  state.  Every  spot  should  be 
annually  clothed  in  grass,  or  some  other  vege- 
table of  active  and  luxuriant  growth.  For, 
the  process  of  vegetation,  under  every  form, 
is  favourable  to  the  renovation  of  our  atmos- 
phere, and  the  propagation  of  health.  Co- 
vering with  grass,  or  some  other  cleailly 
vegetable,  every  practicable  part  of  the  city 
and  its  vicinity,  would  have  an  effect  on  the 
superincumbent  and  surrounding  atmosphere, 
and,  consequently,  on  health,  somewhat  similar 
to  the  draining  and  cultivation  of  an  unwhole- 
some tract  of  meadow. 

As  rills  and  rivulets  constitute  a  part  of 
rural  scenery  equally  beautiful,  refreshing, 
and  salutary,  they  should  be  imitated  in  our 
establishments  for  protecting  our  city  from 
the    ravages   of  epidemics.     Nor    is    this  a 


C    119    ] 

project  of  difficult  execution.  As  soon  as 
the  works  for  watering  the  city  shall  have 
been  completed,  our  gutters,  which,  in  their 
present  state,  so  frequently,  during  the  sum- 
mer and  autumnal  seasons,  disgust  by  their 
putrid  appearance,  and  nauseate  by  their  of- 
fensive smell,  may  be  converted  into  rills  of 
wholesome  water. 

In  a  word,  as  large  cities  have  been,  in 
all  ages,  and  countries,  the  great  theatres 
for  the  tragic  scenes  of  pestilence,  the  cause 
of  this  is  acknowledged,  by  every  one,  to  exist 
in  the  atmospheres  of  these  places.  Such  is 
the  dominion  of  the  atmosphere,  over  the  sys- 
tems of  men  and  other  animals,  that,  were  its 
qualities. the  same,  in  all  situations,  the  epide- 
mics of  all  situations  would  be  nearly  similar. 
For,  this  fluid  is  no  less  the  vehicle  of  epide- 
mic disease,  than  the  source  and  vehicle  of 
animal  heat. 

Let  the  contending  parties  unite,  then, 
in  adopting,  and  zealously  pursuing,  every 
possible  measure,  that  can  have  the  smallest 
effect,  in  assimilating  the  air  of  our  city  to  the 
uncontaminated  air  of  the  country. 

Thus  far  on  the  internal  regulations  of 
our  city,     I  shall  add  a  few  observations  re- 


[      120     ] 

specting  the  regimen,    which   appears   most 
conducive  to  the  health  of  the  inhabitants; 

On  this  subject  (as  a  descent  to  particu- 
lars will  not  be  expected)  my  opinions  will  be 
delivered  in  very  general  terms. 

I  conceive  that  health  would  be  promoted, 
by  the  use  of  more  vegetable  and  less  animal 
food,  particularly  throughout  the  months  of 
summer  and  autumn.  I  would  also  recon> 
mend,  during  the  same  time,  the  substitution 
of  the  lighter  wines,  or  rather  of  cider  and 
malt  liquor,  for  the  quantities  of  Madeira 
consumed  at  our  tables. 

Nor  can  I  avoid  expressing  a  wish  for 
the  general  introduction  and  use  of  the  cold 
bath.  This  delightful  practice  is  particularly 
necessary,  under  the  intemperate  warmth  of 
our  climate.  It  is  as  essential  to  the  clean- 
liness and  comfort  of  the  body,  as  repeated 
washing  is  to  the  purity  and  sweetness  of  our 
clothes  or  our  streets.  It  carries  off  the  per- 
spirable matter,  which,  by  adhering  to  the 
skin,  might  become  a  source  of  disease  ;  it 
determines  the  vital  action  towards  the  super- 
ficies of  the  body ;  and  counteracts  that  relax- 
ation and  lassitude,  so  universally  experienced 
during  the  intensity  of  our  summer  heats. 


C    121    ] 

By  an  adoption  of,  and  steady  perseve- 
rance in,  the  foregoing  steps,  it  is  hoped, 
that  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  will  be  no 
longer  a  prey  to  the  wide  wasting  pestilence. 
They  will,  at  least,  discharge  an  important 
duty  to  themselves  and  to  humanity,  in  ne- 
glecting no  practicable  mean  of  safety.  They 
will  exhibit  a  becoming  sense  of  the  high  re- 
sponsibility under  which  they  lie,  on  the  score 
of  self-preservation,  and  exonerate  themselves 
from  the  charge  of  being,  in  any  measure,  ac- 
cessary to  the  calamities  they  suffer. 

I  am  prepared  for  the  clamours  and  de- 
famatory attacks  of  certain  individuals,  who 
will  denounce  me  as  attempting  an  injury  to 
the  reputation  and  interest  of  our  city.  This 
charge  is  too  much  the  offspring  and  nurseling 
of  ignorance  and  illiberality,  to  create  in  me 
the  smallest  degree  of  uneasiness.  Though. 
I  may  pity  the  blindness,  and  entertain  a  con- 
tempt for  the  weakness,  of  its  authors,  it  is 
impossible  I  should  ever  be  induced  to  dread 
their  malevolence.  I  am  anxious  to  make  the 
public  sensible,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  im- 
portation of  yellow  fever,  and  its  propagation 
by  specific  contagion,  is  much  more  injurious 
to  the  reputation  of  Philadelphia,  and  offers, 
to  its  inhabitants,  a  more  hopeless  prospect  of 

S 


C     122     ] 

exemption  from  it,  than  that  of  its  origin  from 
domestic  causes.  On  this  subject,  I  beg  leave 
to  state  the  following  considerations. 


Yellow  fever  is  known  to  be  an  evil, 
which  never  entirely  disappears  from  the 
West-India  Islands.  It  is  a  native  of  their 
climate,  and,  in  places  abounding  with  putrid 
substances,  every  season  of  the  year  is  com- 
petent to  its  production. 


If,  then,  this  disease  can  be  imported  to 
us,  in  the  form  of  human  contagion,  attached 
to  a  clean  and  undamaged  bale  of  goods,  to 
the  timbers  or  sails  of  a  vessel,  where  no 
putrefaction  exists,  to  the  contents  of  a  sailor's 
chest,  to  his  person,  to  his  pocket  handker- 
chief, or  even  to  the  ribband  which  he  wears 
to  his  watch. — If  it  can  be  introduced  through 
such  a  variety  of  secret  and  inscrutable  chan- 
nels as  these,  in  vain  will  be  the  efforts  of 
human  wisdom  and  vigilance,  in  the  present 
state  of  things,  to  secure  our  city  against  its 
annual  return.  Our  only  resource  will  be, 
an  unconditional  interdiction  of  commerce, 
and  every  species  of  intercourse  with  the  West 
Indies,  and  other  warm  regions,  where  yellow 
fever  prevails. 


[      123     ] 

Nor  will  even,  this  be  sufficient  for  the 
attainment  of  our  object.  The  disease  is 
now  among  us,  and,  if  it  can  be  propaga- 
ted by  specific  contagion,  we  have  no  reason 
to  flatter  ourselves  that  it  will  ever  be 
eradicated.  The  contagion  will  lurk,  from 
year  to  year,  in  the  confined  and  dirty  hovels 
of  the  poor,  and  render  the  evil  as  perma- 
nent as  that  of  the  small  pox  or  measles. 
Its  extinction  can  be  insured  by  nothing  less, 
than  the  destruction  of  our  city,  and  other 
places,  where  it  has  prevailed,  by  fire. 

Let  us,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  on 
this  point,  suppose  the  West  India  climate 
to  be,  at  all  times,  capable  of  producing  the 
contagion  of  small  pox,  and  the  human 
system  to  be  liable  to  reiterated  attacks  of 
this  disease.  In  such  a  state  of  things,  and 
during  the  continuance  of  our  present  inter- 
course with  the  Islands,  what  security  could 
we  repose  in  the  strictness  of  our  health-law, 
and  the  vigilance  of  its  officers  ?  Would  not 
the  contagion  find  a  thousand  avenues  of  ad- 
mission among  us,  notwithstanding  every  hu- 
man exertion  to  the  contrary  ?  Would  not  the 
intention  of  quarantines,  and  Lazarettos,  be 
so  entirely  frustrated,  as  to  render  their 
establishment,  an  unnecessary,  and  an  op- 
pressive expence  ?     As   well   might  we    at- 


[      124     ] 

tempt,  by  legislative  interposition,  to  shade 
our  shores  from  the  light  of  Heaven,  as  to 
guard  them  from  small  pox  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. Nor  would  the  case  be,  in  any 
measure,  different,  with  regard  to  yellow 
fever,  were  it  introducible  by  means,  of  speci- 
fic contagion. 

But,  supposing  this  disease  to  be,  as 
some  aliedge,  not  a  native  of  the  West 
Indies,  but,  imported  thither  in  a  vessel, 
from  Siam,  our  prospect  of  its  being  era- 
dicated from  among  us,  will  be  in  no  mea- 
sure brightened, 

It  is  almost  a  century,  since  yellow  fe-r 
ver  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  the 
Island  of  Martinique,  during  which  time  it 
has  never  entirely  disappeared.  What  ground, 
then,  have  we  to  hope,  that  it  will  be 
less  permanent,  in  its   residence    with  us  ? 

Having  taken  such  immediate  and  fixed 
root,  when  brought  from  the  old  world  to  the 
West  Indies,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  result  will  be  similar,  on  its  exporta- 
tion from  thence  to  the  continent  of  America. 

Such  is  the  melancholy  aspect  of  things, 
presented  to  view  by  the  importers  of  yellow 


C      125      ] 

fever  !  Their  ill-boding  doctrine  threatens  us 
with  nothing  less,  than  an  endless  succes- 
sion of  our  present  misfortunes  ! 

Let  us  now,  for  a  moment,  attend  to 
that  picture  of  the  same  subject,  drawn  by 
the  advocates  of  domestic  generation, 

How  striking  is  the  contrast !  How  de- 
lightful the  reverse  !  Here  is  no  perpetuity 
of  evil,  to  banish  us  from  our  homes  !  Here  is 
no  specific  contagion,  to  be  conveyed,  in 
goods,  from  the  city  to  the  country !  Here 
is  no  ground  for  apprehension,  that  our 
clothes,  our  furniture,  or  the  walls  of  our 
houses,  are  the  constant  reservoirs  of  a 
deadly  poison.  Here  the  period  of  danger 
and  alarm  is,  only,  co-extensive  with  the 
actual  ravages  of  the  evil.  Its  utmost  dura- 
tion is,  from  the  middle  or  close  of  summer, 
to  the  commencement  of  winter.  Were  the 
disease  capable  of  leaving  a  poison  behind  it, 
the  season  of  danger  could  terminate,  on. 
ly  with  the  existence  of  those  susceptible  of 
infection. 

In  a  word,  by  the  advocates  of  the  doc- 
trine  of  domestic  origin,  yellow  fever  is  re- 
presented as  an  evil  of  temporary  duration, 


[      126      ] 

subordinate  to  the  change  of  seasons,  and  to 
human  controul.  It  is  declared  to  be  the  off- 
spring of  domestic  filth,  co-operating  with  a 
malignant  constitution  of  atmosphere,  and, 
our  fellow  citizens  are  assured,  that  by  the 
removal  of  this  filth,  and  by  adopting  and 
retaining  habits  of  general  cleanliness,  they 
may  look  forward,  with  confidence,  to  a  re- 
turn of  health.  For,  however  malignant  the 
general  constitution  of  atmosphere  may  be,  it 
is  known  to  be,  for  the  most  part,  incapable  of 
producing  pestilential  fever,  without  the  aid 
of  putrid  exhalations. 

I  am  persuaded,  that,  from  this  view  of 
things,  a  candid  public  will,  henceforward, 
concur  with  me,  that  the  reputation  of  our  city 
and  country  is  endangered,  not  by  the  advo- 
cates of  the  domestic  origin  of  yellow  fever, 
but,  by  those  who  contend  for  its  importation 
from  abroad. 

In  matters  of  ordinary  magnitude,  it  is 
neither  necessary  nor  becoming,  to  appeal 
from  the  reason,  to  the  passions  of  an  en- 
lightened public.  But,  when  the  lives  of 
thousands  of  our  fellow  creatures  depend  on 
issue  ;  when  the  prosperity,  (not  to  say 
the  existence)  of  the  metropolis  of  our  country 


[      127      ] 

is  at  stake ;  when  the  welfare  of  our  country, 
in  general,  is  concerned ;  and,  when  even  the 
fate  of  posterity  is  involved,  the  occasion 
will  justify  an  attempt  to  interest  every  vir- 
tuous feeling  of  the  mind,  and  to  touch  every 
spring  of  human  action  ! 

Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  bear  with  my 
importunity  !  Be  assured,  that  no  obstinacy 
of  opinion,  no  desire  of  rendering  myself  con- 
spicuous in  the  public  prints,  no  spirit  of 
voluntary  perseverance  in  error,  induces  me 
to  trouble  you  with  these  communications. 
I  act  under  the  impulse  of  a  sense  of  duty ! 
I  address  you,  from  a  conviction,  that  I  ad- 
vocate a  truth  connected  with  your  interests, 
and,  that  silence,  on  such  an  occasion, 
would  be  no  less  than  criminal.  I  am 
importunate,  because  importunity  is  a  virtue, 
when  we  warn  our  fellow  citizens  of  impen- 
ding ruin ! 

Is  not  the  manifest  inefncacy  of  the 
present  health-law,  sufficient  to  convince  you, 
that  its  fundamental  principle  is  a  principle 
of  error  ?  Are  not  the  sufferings  of  three 
sucessive  years,  sufficient  to  induce  you  to 
abandon  this  principle,  and  to  adopt  another, 
which  reason  approves,  and  experience  has 
not   yet  denounced  as  fallacious  ?  To  how 


t     128     ] 

many  more  hazards  of  life  will  you  subject 
yourselves — how  many  more  autumns  will 
you  pass,  in  a  state  of  painful  exile,  from 
your  homes — how  many  more  valuable  citi- 
zens will  you  resign  to  the  grave,  rather  than 
relinquish  this  delusive  hypothesis  ? 

Will  nothing  but  the  agonies  of  your 
expiring  friends,  and  the  lamentations  of  their 
disconsolate  relatives — Will  nothing  but  the 
desolation  of  your  own  families,  render  you 
awake  to  the  voice  of  truth  ?  Is  it  your  deter- 
mination to  reject,  in  the  face  of  all  possible 
testimony,  a  belief  in  the  domestic  origin  of 
our  autumnal  epidemics  ?  Are  you  determined 
to  rely,  for  security  against  a  recurrence  of 
these  evils,  on  a  health-law,  founded  exclu- 
sively on  the  hypothesis  of  their  necessary  im- 
portation? Under  this  determination,  are  you 
farther  resolved,  to  suffer  our  present  sources 
of  exhalation,  not  only  to  remain  as  they  now 
are,  but  even  to  accumulate  with  the  progress 
of  time  ? 

If  so,  prepare  for  the  final  abandonment 
of  your  city !  Prepare  for  the  melancholy  tale 
of  some  feeling  and  contemplative  traveller, 
who,  at  no  very  distant  period  of  time,  like 
the  eloquent  Volney,  amid  the  fragments  of 
Polmyra,    will   halt  when  he  arrives  at  the 


C     129     3 

ruins  01  Philadelphia,  and  record  them,  in 
tears,  as  a  monument  of  the  prejudice  and 
delusion  of  its  inhabitants  ! 


No.    vis    (10) 

AN  ATTEMPT  TO  SOLVE  THE  FOLLOWING  QUESTION,  higi 
WHY  DOES  THE  FILTH  OF  PHILADELPHIA  PRODUCE 
YELLOW  FEVER  NOW,  WHEREAS  IT  DID  NOT  IN  FORMER 
TEARS,  WHEN  MUCH  MORE  ABUNDANT  THAN  IT  IS  AT 
PRESENT  ? 

VV  ITH  the  close  of  my  last  number, 
I  thought  to  have  taken  leave  of  my  subject, 


(10)  Between  many  passages,  in  this  work,  but  mnrt 
particularly  in  the  two  following  numbers,  and  certain  parts  of 
Mr.  Webster's  "  History  of  epidemic  and  pestilential  diseases," 
there  exists  sucn  a  similarity  cf  sentiment,  that  the  one 
might  be  supposed  to  have  been  copied  from  the  other. 

To  exonerate  us  both,  however,  from  the  charge  cf  pla- 
giarism, it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  the  present  series  of  num- 
bers was  in  print,  sometime  before  the  appearance  of  Mr. 
Webster's  history,  and  that  his  work  was  ready  for  the  press, 
long  before  the  publication  of  this. 

The  discovery  cf  such  a  coincidence  of  sentiment  with 
?ne,  who,  to  the  man  of  extensive  reading,  unites  the  accute 

:ner,  and  the  observing  philosopher,  while  it  flatters  me 
not  a   little,  contributes  to  heighten   my  confidence   in    the 

ess  of  iry  ODinions. 

T 


[      130     ] 

for  ever.  Nor  is  it  without  regret,  that  I  find 
myself  impelled  to  a  farther  intrusion  on  the 
time  of  my  readers.  But,  like  the  prospect 
of  the  traveller,  who  descries  Alps  towering 
over  Alps,  while,  as  he  proceeds  on  his  jour- 
ney, the  most  distant  ridge  gives  place  to  one 
more  distant  still,  my  discovery  of  new  and 
important  matter,  keeps  pace  with  the  pro- 
gress I  make  in  my  enquiry. 

In  my  intercourse  with  my  fellow  citi- 
zens, I  have  had,  of  late,  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  frequent  conversations,  and  considera- 
ble debate,  on  the  following  questions,  viz. 

I.  Why  does  the  filth  of  Philadelphia 
produce  yellow  fever  now,  whereas  it  did  not, 
in  former  years,  when  much  more  abundant 
than  it  is,  at  present  ? 

II.  Why  does  this  disease  always 
make  its  first  appearance,  as  an  epidemic, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the   wharves  ? 

III.  If  it  be  the  result  of  putrefaction, 
why  does  it  never  break  out,  and  rage,  in  the 
country,  or  in  inland  towns,  remote  from  com- 
mercial cities  ? 


[      131      J 

These  questions  appear  to  constitute  the 
strong  hold  of  those,  who  believe  yellow  fever 
to  be  an  imported  disease.  They  have  be- 
come arguments  of  such  notoriety,  that  we 
find  their  use  familiar  to  every  one.  From 
the  philosopher,  whose  views  are  exalted  as 
the  Heavens,  to  the  labourer,  whose  humble 
situation  is  a  counterpart  to  his  mind,  these 
arguments  pass  in  current  circulation. 

Nor  is  it  surprising,  that  to  the  public 
at  large,  whose  opportunities  for  acquiring 
physical  knowledge  are  veiy  limited,  and 
whose  credulity  is  always  paramount  to  their 
spirit  of  enquiry,  they  should  appear,  in 
some  measure,  specious  and  plausible.  But, 
by  the  man  of  liberal  science,  whose  sources 
of  information  are  more  extensive,  and  whose 
business  and  practice  it  is,  always  to  examine 
before  he  believes,  they  cannot  fail  to  be 
rejected   as   unsatisfactory    and  fallacious,     - 

To  resolve  whatever  doubts  may  still 
exist,  in  the  minds  of  the  candid,  to  render 
the  present  series  of  numbers  a  final  answer 
to  all  objections  that  have  been  raised  against 
the  doctrine  of  the  domestic  origin  of  yellow 
fever,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  remove 
every  difficulty  connected  with  the  subject,  I 
beg  leave  to  state  a  few  observations,  in  an- 


C      132      ] 

swer  to  the  above  propositions.  I  shall  con- 
sider them  in  the  order  in  which  they 
stand. 

I.  Why  does  the  filth  of  Philadelphia 
produce  yellow  fever  now,  whereas,  it  did 
not  in  former  years,  when  much  more  abun- 
dant than  it  is,   at  present  ? 

Were  I,  like  my  opponents,  disposed  to 
adopt  the  logic  of  Socrates — were  it  my  in- 
tention to  perplex  and  confound,  rather  than 
to  enlighten  and  convince,  I  might  reply  to 
them,  in  their  own  sophistical  spirit  of  inter- 
rogatory. 

Instead  of  attempting  to  answer  the 
question,  why  the  summer  atmosphere  of 
Philadelphia,  gives  origin  now  to  diseases, 
which  it  did  not  formerly  produce  ?  I  might 
demand  of  them, 

1.  Why,  in  the  eastern  hemesphere,  the 
plague  frequently  desolates  whole  countries, 
in  one  season,  and,  in  the  next,  (when  the 
sensible  qualities  of  the  atmosphere  are  in  no 
perceptible  degree  different,  and,  when  the 
supposed  contagion  of  this  disease  might  be 
suspected    to  exist  in    ten-fold  quantity  ancj 


[      133      ] 

power)  disappears,  and  does  not  return  again 
for  a  considerable  period  ? 

2.  Why,  when  the  sensible  qualities 
of  the  atmosphere  are  precisely  the  same, 
we  at  one  time  suffer  from,  and  at  another 
escape  epidemic  catarrh  ?  (ll) 

3.  Why,  in  certain  tracts  of  country, 
domestic  animals,  such  as  dogs,  horses,  cows, 
sheep,  fowls,  &c.  are  occasionally  attacked  by 
epidemic  diseases,  which  exist  for  a  while, 
and  then  disappear,  without  any  perceptible 
cause,  either  for  their  origin  or  extinction,  in 
the  seasons,  or  in  the  state  of  any  of  the 
surrounding  elements  ? 

4.  Why,  in  a  place,  peopled  by  emi- 
grants from  different  nations,  the  natives  of 
one  country  shall  be  suddenly  attacked  by 
a  mortal  epidemic,  which  shall  have  no  power 
to  injure  the  other  inhabitants  ? 

5.  Why,  certain  regions,  at  one  time, 
escape,  and,  at  another,  are  ravaged  by 
myriads  of  destructive  insects  and  reptiles. 
■whose    appearance    and    disappearance     are 


(11)  Better  known  by  the  trivial  name  of  influenza? 


[      134     ] 

alike    inexplicable,   from    any    preceding   or 
concomitant    phenomena  of  nature  ? 

6.  Finally,  why,  without  being  able 
frequently  to  attribute  either  their  good  or 
bad  fortune  to  any  of  the  sensible  qualities 
of  the  atmosphere,  or  to  any  perceptible 
properties  of  the  seasons,  the  inhabitants 
of  low  countries  are,  sometimes,  exempt 
from,  and  at  other  times,  attacked  by,  the 
bilious  endemic  of  summer  and  autumn  ? 


Were  I  governed  by  the  same  illiberal 
principles  of  reasoning,  which  appear  to  in- 
fluence the  advocates  of  importation,  I  might 
call  on  them  to  answer  the  above  propositions, 
and,  in  case  of  their  failing  to  comply  with 
my  request,  deny  the  existence  of  the  well 
known  phenomena,  to  which  the  propositions 
relate,  and,  in  my  turn,  refuse  to  reply  to 
their  objections,  against  the  domestic  origin 
of  yellow  fever. 

But,  to  propose  one  difficulty,  in  an- 
swer to  another,  is  equally  uncandid  and 
unphilosophical.  It  is  a  mockery  of  reason — 
an  expedient  in  controversy,  which  tends  to 
darken,  rather  than  elucidate,  and,  is  there- 
fore unworthv  of  the  advocates  of  truth. 


C      135      ] 

Were  we,  in  all  instances,  to  make  our 
ignorance  of  the  operations  of  nature,  a  pre- 
text for  denying,  or  doubting  of  the  reality  of 
her  phenomena,  we  would  open  a  door  for 
universal  scepticism. 

In  this  case,  we  would  render  the  evi- 
dence of  our  senses  an  absolute  nullity.  We 
would  even  deny  the  existence  of  polar  at- 
traction, of  thunder-storms,  of  volcanos,  of 
earthquakes,  and  of  many  other  familiar  and 
stupendous  phenomena  of  nature,  from  our 
incompetency  to  explain  the  principles  and 
modes  of  their  production. 

It  is  worse  than  folly  ;  it  is  presumption 
and  impiety,  to  propose  our  feeble  capacities, 
and  limitted  knowledge,  as  standards  for  the 
boundless  operations  of  nature  ! 

But,  actuated  by  no  petty  ambition  of 
triumphing  at  the  embarrassment  and  silence 
of  an  adversary — Influenced,  only  by  a  wish 
for  the  ascertainment  of  truth,  I  shall  endea- 
vour to  reply  to  the  merits  of  the  foregoing 
question,  proposed  by  the  advocates  of  foreign 
importation, 

I  conceive,  then,  that  yellow  fever  may 
originate  from  the  filth  of  Philadelphia,  now, 
though  it  did  not  informer  times. 


n  136  ] 

I.  Because,  as  observed  in  a  preceding 
number,  we  have,  at  present,  a  pestilential 
constitution  of  atmosphere,  favourable  to  the 
production  of  yellow  fever,  which  did  not  exist 
with  us,  in  its  full  force,  previously  to  the 
year  ninety  three. 

By  the  term,  pestilential  constitution,  I 
mean  a  preternatural  aptitude  or  predisposition 
in  the  air,  to  co-operate  with  other  causes  in 
the  production  and  propagation  of  pestilence. 

Without  the  aid  of  this  general  pre- 
disposition of  the  atmosphere,  our  topical 
causes,  though  they  might  prove  the  source  of 
solitary  cases  of  disease,  would  be  too  weak 
to  give  rise  to  an  extensive  epidemic. 

The  evidences,  on  which  I  found  my 
belief  of  the  prevalence  of  the  above  constitu- 
tion, are, 

1.  The  uncommon  degree  of  disease 
and  mortality,  that  has  occurred,  for  some 
years  past,  among  our  domestic  animals,  such 
as  dogs,  horses,  cats,  hogs,  and  fowls.  Nor 
have  even  the  birds  and  beasts  in  our  forests, 
nor  the  fish  in  the  depth  of  our  waters,  found 
shelter  from  the  effects  of  this  wide  spreading 


C      137     ] 

evil.  They  have  all,  in  their  turns,  been 
fellow-sufferers  in  the  pestilence  of  our  coun- 
try. Disease  and  death,  among  these  inferior 
animals,  appear  to  have  originated  from  the 
same  state  of  our  atmosphere,  which  has  con- 
tributed to  the  generation  and  ravages  of 
yellow  fever,  among  the  human  species. 

This  fact  is  by  no  means  new,  or  un- 
common, in  the  history  of  diseases.  Many 
such  have  occurred,  at.  different  times,  and 
in  different  countries.  Hence,  we  find,  that 
in  most  histories  of  mortal  epidemics,  among 
men,  notice  is  taken  of  cotemporary  disease 
and  death,  among  other  subjects  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom.  This  is  particularly  the  case, 
in  the  account,  left  on  record,  of  the  plague 
which  prevailed  in  the  Grecian  camp,  during 
the  siege  of  ancient  Troy.  It  is,  in  like 
manner,  the  case,  in  the  history  of  the 
memorable  plague  of  Athens,  by  Thucidi- 
des,  in  that  of  a  similar  calamity,  described, 
I  think,  by  Virgil,  in  one  of  his  Georgics, 
and,  also,  of  that  which  desolated  Marseilles, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

2.  The  late  unusual  violence  and  ob- 
stinacy of  febrile  diseases,  both  in  the  citv  and 

U 


C      138      ]. 

country.     This  is  a  circumstance,  of  which 
no  practitioner  of  medicine  can  be  ignorant. 

Since  the  year  ninety  three,  a  memora- 
ble revolution  has  occurred,  in  the  type  and 
state  of  fevers,  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
States.  This  event  has,  necessarily,  given 
rise  to  a  corresponding  revolution  in  their 
medical  treatment*  Were  it  not  that  I  am 
apprehensive  of  rendering  my  communica- 
tions too  lengthy,  I  could  bring  forward  a 
host  of  facts,  in  proof  of  my  assertion.  I 
will  trouble  my  readers  with  the  detail  of 
none  but  one. 

So  striking  is  the  change,  which  has 
taken  place,  of  late,  in  the  malignity  of  the  au- 
tumnal endemic,  in  certain  districts  of  North 
Carolina,  that  Doctor  Harris,  my  first  medical 
preceptor,  and  now  the  most  eminent  physi- 
cian in  that  state,  has  given  it  the  name  of 
the  "Yellow  fever  of  the  country."  From 
this,  it  is  evident,  that  he  considers  it,  as 
nothing  else,  than  a  lower  grade  of  the  yel- 
low or  pestilential  fever  of  our  seaports. 

From  the  remoteness  of  his  situation, 
and  his  want  of  a  correspondence  with  the 
physicians  of  Philadelphia,  it  is  impossi- 
ble that  Dr.  Harris  can  be   strongly  prepos- 


.[      139      ] 

sessed,  in   favour  of  any  theory,  respecting 
the  production  of  yellow  fever. 

It  is  a  fact  of  some  importance,  that,  in 
the  summer  and  autumn  of  ninety  eight,  the 
season,  in  which  the  pestilential  epidemic 
rose  to  its  height  in  this  place,  the  doctor 
found  the  yellow  fever  cf  his  district,  more 
general  and  malignant,  than  at  any  other 
period. 

But,  the  phenomenon  in  question,  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  the  limits  of  our 
country.  Jamaica,  and  several  other  West. 
India  Islands,  have  witnessed  a  similar 
change,  in  the  character  of  their  diseases. 
Nor  have  even  the  diseases  of  many  parts  of 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  escaped  the  influ- 
ence of  this  modifying  power. 

Since  the  year  ninety  three,  the  fevers 
of  winter  and  spring  have  exhibited,  in  this 
place,  many  of  the  alarming  symptoms,  which 
formerly  characterized  the  diseases  of  sum- 
mer and  autumn  ;  while  those  of  the  latter 
seasons,  have  assumed  a  malignity,  which,  till 
lately,  was  altogether  unknown  in  our  country-. 

For  the  truth  of  these  facts,  many  phy- 
sicians, of  the  first  respectability,  are  ready 


[      140     ] 

to  pledge  their  observation  and  experience. 
They  can  be  explained,  only,  by  admitting 
the  existence  of  the  foregoing  constitution  of 
atmosphere. 

I  pass,  in  silence,  over  the  swarms  of 
insects,  by  which  we  have  been  infested, 
fqr  a  few  years  past ;  nor  do  I  dwell  on  cer- 
tain irregular  and  unusual  appearances,  that 
have  lately  marked  the  progress  of  vegetation. 
Such  phenomena,  however,  must  be  consi- 
dered as  expressive  of  something  peculiar  in 
the  state  of  our  atmosphere. 

A  superabundance  of  destructive  insects, 
is  an  evil  which  seldom  fails  to  accompany 
pestilential  epidemics,  in  the  countries  of  the 
east.  Nor  has  Europe  been,  at  all  times, 
exempt  from  a  similar  concurrence  of  cala- 
mities. Indeed  we  find,  that,  during  the 
prevalence  of  most  extensive  plagues,  both  of 
ancient  and  modern  times,  either  the  conn* 
tries,  subject  to  the  calamity,  or  those  im- 
mediately bordering  on  them,  and  sometimes 
both,  have  been  overrun  by  myriads  of  in- 
sects. This  furnishes  a  strong  ground  oi 
belief,  that  the  same  state  of  air,  which  fa- 
vours an  excessive  multiplication  of  these 
tribes  of  animals,  contributes  to  the  gener.i 
[ion  of  pestilential  diseases, 


[      141      ] 

Having  delivered  the  foregoing  argu- 
ments, in  favour  of  the  prevalence  of  the  con- 
stitution of  atmosphere  contended  for,  I  de- 
cline entering  into  any  speculation  respecting 
its  cause.  The  establishment  of  its  exis- 
tence, is  all  that  is  necessary,  for  my  present 
purpose. 

It  may  not  be  amiss,  however,  to  ob- 
serve, that  different  philosophers  have  con- 
sidered the  above  constitution,  as  the  offspring 
of  different  causes.  In  this  diversity  of  opi- 
nion, some  have  ascribed  it  to  planetary  influ- 
ence, some  to  volcanic  eruptions,  some  to 
earthquakes,  some  to  a  general  exhalation 
from  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  some  to  a 
certain  derangement  of  the  electric  fluid. 
Possibly  most,  or  even  the  whole  of  these 
causes,  may  have  occasionally  co-operated 
in  its  production. 

It  is  not  without  much  apparent  reason, 
that  mortal  epidemics  are  considered  as  occa- 
sionally the  offspring  of,  or,  at  least,  as  in- 
timately connected  with,  earthquakes,  and 
the  eruptions  of  volcanos.  In  running  over 
the  history  of  former  ages  and  distant  coun- 
tries, we  learn,  that  pestilence  has  been  fre- 
quently, not  to  say,  uniformly  preceded,  or 
accompanied  by  these  dreadful  commotions., 


[      142      ] 

Thus,  (not  to  mention  many  other  simi- 
lar instances,)  during  the  reign  of  Justinian, 
a  period,  in  which  pestilence  and  the  sword 
threatened  little  less  than  the  extinction  of 
the  human  race,  the  foundations  of  the  old 
world  were  shaken  by  earthquakes  almost 
innumerable.  Nor  was  this  less  the  case, 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  during  the  greater 
part  of  which,  pestilence  appears  to  have  been 
epidemic,  over  most  of  the  inhabited  countries 
of  the  globe. 

In  reflecting  on  the  phenomena  and 
power  of  volcanos,  we  are  convinced,  that 
their  influence,  in  changing  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere,  must  be  extensive  beyond  cal- 
culation. If,  by  the  quantity  and  force  of  their 
imprisoned  gases,  they  can  project  immense 
fragments  of  rock  to  the  distance  of  many 
miles — if  they  can  raise  vast  mountains  from 
the  bottom  of  the  fathomless  ocean — if  they 
can  throw  bodies,  so  ponderous  as  ashes 
and  cinders,  to  the  distance  of  more  than 
fifty  league s— if,  by  their  smoke  and  visible 
exhalation,  they  can  involve  the  surrounding 
countries  in  a  night  of  darkness,  there  is  no 
doubt,  but  they  may  diffuse  the  light  aeriform 
subtances,  to  which  they  give  origin  in  such 
abundance,  throughout  the  atmosphere  of 
half  the  earth. 


t      143     ]       * 

Nearly  the  same  thing  may  be  said, 
with  regard  to  earthquakes.  The  elastic 
fluids,  to  which  these  concussions  give  vent, 
must  contaminate  the  air  to  a  great  distance. 


II.  Another  reason,  why  yellow  fever 
may  now  originate,  in  part,  from  the  filth  of 
our  streets,  though  it  did  not,  in  former  times, 
even  when  this  nuisance  was  more  abundant 
than  it  is  at  present,  is  derived  from  the 
state,  in  which  such  filth'  must  be,  in  order 
to  emit  the  greatest  practicable  quantity  of 
noxious  exhalation.  This  is,  a  mean  state, 
between  the  extreme  of  moisture  and  the  ex- 
treme of  dryness. 


If  animal  and  vegetable  substances  be 
kept  perfectly  dry,  it  is  known  to  every  one, 
that  they  will  not  putrefy,  and  consequently 
will  not  give  origin  to  pestilential  effluvia. 
Nor  is  the  result,  as  far  as  hirrnan  health  is 
concerned,  in  any  degree  different,  when 
they  are  kept  completely  immersed  in  water. 
For  if,  in  the  latter  situation,  they  do  un- 
dergo the  putrefactive  process,  the  exhala- 
tion which  they  emit,  is  mostly  absorbed  by 
the  water,  and  not  suffered  to  rise  and  conta- 
minate the  atmosphere. 


[      144      ] 

Thus,  in  low  marshy  places,  subject 
to  annual  returns  of  bilious  fever,  extremely 
wet,  and  extremely  dry  seasons,  are  alike 
unfavourable  to  the  prevalence  of  this  disease. 
In  the  latter,  a  deficiency,  and  in  the  former,  a 
superabundance,  of  moisture,  prevents  the 
generation  of  the  poisonous  effluvia,  acknow- 
ledged to  be  the  cause  of  the  evil  in  question. 
It  is  only  during  those  seasons,  in  which 
periods  of  wet  and  of  warm  weather,  alternate- 
ly succeed  each  other,  that  this  evil  prevails 
to  the  greatest  extent. 


In  former  years,  previously  to  the 
general  paving  of  our  streets,  the  filth  of  our 
city  was  in  a  state  of  too  great  humidity,  to 
be  a  plentiful  and  dangerous  source  of  pesti- 
lential effluvia.  At  present,  however,  the 
case  is  different.  It  appears  to  be  now,  in  that 
intermediate  condition,  between  the  extremes 
of  moisture  and  dryness,  most  favourable  to 
the  production  of  this  fatal  poison 


To  become  again  exempt  from  this 
evil,  we  must  either  keep  our  streets,  and 
other  reservoirs  of  filth,  perfectly  clean,  or 
inundate  them  with  water,  during  the  sum- 
mer and  autumnal  heats. 


t    i«   3 

III.  For  more  than  a  century  past,  the 
ground,  on  which  Philadelphia  stands,  has 
been  imbibing  pestilential  filth  from  grave- 
yards,  privies,  sewers,  and  various  other  sour- 
ces of"  putrefaction.  It  would  appear,  at  pre- 
sent, to  be  so  completely  saturated  with  these 
putrid  effluvia,  as  to  be  no  longer  capable  of 
receiving  any  more.  Whatever  exhalation, 
therefore,  issues  now  from  the  internal  filth 
of  our  city,  is  not,  as  formerly,  absorbed 
and  imprisoned  by  the  ground,  but,  partly  in 
consequence  of  the  above  saturation,  and 
partly  from  the  general  paving  of  the  streets, 
is  let  loose,  either  to  contaminate  the  waters 
Which  we  drink,  or  to  impregnate  our  atmos- 
phere with  the  seeds  of  pestilence. 

This  we  would  assign  as  another  rea- 
son, why  our  domestic  sources  may  now  aid 
in  giving  birth  to  pestilential  epidemics,  though 
they  did  not,  in  former  years,  when  even 
more  abundant  than  they  are  at  present. 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  this  consideration 
will  act  as  an  additional  motive,  in  urging  us 
to  measures  of  internal  cleanliness. 


X 


C      146      3 


No.     VII. 

ftEASON     WHY      YELLOW    FEVER    HAS      ALWAYS      MADE    IT 
FIRST     APPEARANCE,    AS     AN     EPIDEMIC,     IN    PHILADEL- 
PHIA,   IN    THE    NEIGHBOURHOOD   OF    THE    WHARVES THE 

QUESTION,  SO  OFTEN  PROPOSED,  "  WHY  DOES  YELLOW 
TEVER  NEVER  ORIGINATE  AND  PREVAIL  IN  THE  COUN- 
TRY, OR  IN  INLAND  TOWNS,  REMOTE  FROM  COMMER- 
CIAL CITIES?"  CONSIDERED.  FARTHER  OBJECTIONS 
AGAINST    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    IMPORTATION. 

I.  VV  HY  does  yellow  fever  always 
make  its  first  appearance,  as  an  epidemic, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  wharves  ? 

This  question  has  been  already,  in 
some  measure,  answered,  in  a  preceding 
number.  It  was  there  observed,  that,  in 
consequence  of  being  the  seat  of  commercial 
transactions,  of  being  built  entirely  of  putre- 
fying wood,  and,  at  the  same  time,  occupy- 
ing the  lowest  ground  in  the  city,  our  docks 
and  wharves  are  the  reservoirs  of  an  immen- 
sity of  filth.  This  filth,  lying  mostly  in  a 
loose  state,  mixed  with  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  moisture,  and,  more  immediately,  than  in 
other  situations,  exposed,  not  only  to  the 
direct  rays   of  the  sun,  but  also   to   those 


C      147     ] 

reflected  from  the  water,  must  necessarily 
be  earliest  in  giving  origin  to  an  abundance 
of  pestilential  air.  We  must,  therefore,  ex- 
pect epidemics  to  appear  first,  in  that  place, 
where  the  poison,  which  gives  rise  to  them, 
exists  in  the  greatest  quantity. 

But,  though  yellow  fever,  as  an  epi- 
demic, has  always  made  its  earliest  appear- 
ance along  our  wharves,  it  has  not  been  so 
with  detached  or  sporadic  cases.  These 
have  seldom  failed  to  show  themselves  first, 
in  parts  of  the  city  remote  from  the  river. 

Our  earliest  instances  of  yellow  fever, 
in  ninety  seven,  ninety  eight,  and  ninety  nine, 
occurred  in  persons,  who  had  had  no  pre- 
vious connection  with  the  wharves,  with  the 
shipping,  or  with  seafaring  characters.  In 
support  of  these  facts,  I  am  able  to  produce 
the  testimony  of  several  physicians,  of  the 
first  respectability, 

In  ninety  eight,  I  myself  attended  two 
cases  of  genuine  pestilential  fever,  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  river,  in  the  month  of  June  ; 
whereas  this  disease  did  not  commence  its 
ravages,  as  an  epidemic,  along  our  wharves, 
till  the  beginning  of  August.  My  patients 
both  recovered,  with  yellow  skins,  dark  eva- 


I      148      ] 

etiations,    and  other  symptoms  of  high  'ma* 

lignity. 

Two  physicians  of  the  importing  party, 
who  visited  one  of  these  cases,  declared,  that 
could  they  trace  it  to  any  infected  source, 
they  would  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  a  case 
pf  yellow  fever. 

What  a  melancholy  perversion  of  the 
human  intellect !  What  a  solecism  in  me- 
dical indecision  is  here  !  Who,  in  any 
instance,  except  where  yellow  fever  is  con- 
cerned, ever  heard  of  practitioners  of  medi- 
cine, deriving  their  opinion  of  the  nature  of 
a  disease,  from  its  equivocal  origin,  rather 
than  from  its  manliest  and  characteristic 
symptoms  ? 

What  physician,  of  experience  and  dis- 
cernment, on  seeing  the  small  pox  or  measles, 
raging  in  all  their  violence,  and  attended  by 
all  their  pathognomonic  symptoms,  will  hesi- 
tate to  pronounce  the  cases  to  be  small  pox 
or  measles,  till  he  shall  have  ascertained,  by 
enquiry,  whether  or  not  the  patients  have 
been  exposed  to  infected  sources  ?  What  sur- 
geon, on  being  called  to  a  case  of  fracturecj 
limb,  will  suspend  his  determination,  whether 
or  not  it  be  a  fracture,  till  made  acquainted 


[      149      ] 

with  the  precise  nature  and  degree  of  the 
violence  to  which  the  part  has  been  subject- 
ed ?  Where  is  the  physician  so  timid  and 
sceptical,  as  to  doubt  respecting  the  name  he 
should  give  to  a  paroxism  of  intermitting  fe- 
ver, from  an  ignorance,  whether  or  not 
the  patient  has  been  exposed  to  marsh  mias- 
ma ?  What  botanist,  after  examining  a  com- 
mon and  well  known  plant,  will  refuse  to  be- 
stow on  it  its  proper  name,  till  particular- 
ly informed  respecting  the  seed  from  which  it 
sprang  ?  And,  what  would  be  our  opinion  of 
that  naturalist,  who,  on  finding,  in  an  uninha- 
bited country,  a  man,  complete  in  all  his  parts, 
and  perfect  in  all  his  faculties,  would  hesitate 
to  acknowledge  him  to  be  a  man,  till  assured 
of  his  descent  from  two  individuals  of  the 
Jiuman  race  ? 

Equally  irrational  and  absurd  is  the 
conduct  of  that  physician,  who  refuses  to  der 
cide  on  the  nature  of  a  well  known  febrile 
disease,  until  particularly  aprized  of  its 
origin. 

In  our  decisions,  relative  to  the  nature, 
and  identity  of  physical  objects,  we  must 
wave  all  visionary  discussions,  respecting 
their  origin,  and  rely  solely  on  their  leading 
and  permanent  characters. 


C    iso   ] 

When  we  see  an  elephant,  we  must  pro- 
nounce it  to  be  an  elephant,  whether  it  be 
brought  to  us  from  the  north  or  from  the 
south. 

When  we  see  a  lion,  we  must  acknow- 
ledge it  to  be  such,  whether  it  has  been  rear- 
ed amid  the  Lybian  wastes,  or  in  the  unex- 
plored forests  of  our  own  country. 

And,  in  like  manner,  when  called  to  a 
case  of  pestilential  or  yellow  fever,  let  us 
not  deny  to  it,  either  its  nature,  its  name, 
or  its  treatment,  because  we  are  unable  to 
trace  its  descent  from  a  tropical  climate. 

III.  If  yellow  fever  be  the  offspring  of 
putrefaction,  why  does  it  never  break  out  and 
rage  in  the  country,  or  in  inland  towns,  re- 
mote from  commercial  cities  ? 

This  question  is  incapable  of  receiving  a 
direct  reply,  because  it  is  founded  on  a  false 
presumption.  A  denial  of  the  truth  of  its 
premises,  is  the  only  answer  to  which  it  is 
entitled. 

But,  even  admitting  it  to  be  true,  that 
yellow  fever  never  has  originated,  in  the 
above  places,  it  would  operate   as  an  argu- 


[   m   ] 

merit  of  but  little  weight,  in  favour  of  the  fo- 
reign origin  of  this  disease.  The  accumulation 
of  putrid  substances,  either  in  inland  towns,  or 
in  any  given  space  of  country,  is,  in  common, 
comparatively  small,  and  the  quantity  of  ex- 
halation proportionably  inconside rable.  These 
circumstances,  added  to  a  constant  and  copious 
supply  of  fresh  air,  cannot  fail  to  prevent  such 
places,  from  being  as  subject  to  a  highly  vitia- 
ted state  of  atmosphere,  as  a  city  so  extensive 
and  populous  as  Philadelphia. 

The  fallacy  of  the  idea,  however,  on 
which  the  above  question  is  founded,  is  fully 
exposed,  by  the  history  of  Harrisburgh,  and 
several  inland  towns  to  the  eastward,  as  well 
as  by  that  of  some  parts  of  New- Jersey,  of 
an  extensive  tract  of  the  Gennesee  country, 
and  of  certain  districts  in  most  of  the  southern 
states,  but,  more  particularly,  in  the  Carolinas 
and  in  Georgia.  In  these  places,  yellow  fever 
has  repeatedly  originated,  and  prevailed  with 
as  much  malignity,  as  in  any  of  the  commer- 
cial cities  of  the  Union. 

It  has  been  asserted  by  some,  that 
yellow  fever  has  never  occurred  in  the  United 
States,  except  when  unusually  prevalent  in  the 
West-India  Islands.  This,  the  advocates  of 
foreign   importation  have   construed  into   an 


C     152    ] 

argument,  in  favour  of  its  introduction  from 
that  quarter. 

Th£  most  diligent  enquiry  has  not  been 
sufficient  to  convince  me,  that  the  above  asser- 
tion is  founded  in  truth.  On  the  contrary,  the 
farther  I  carry  my  researches  on  the  subject, 
the  more  am  I  inclined  to  doubt  its  authentici- 
ty— I  should  rather  have  said,  the  more  am 
I  convinced  of  its  absolute  fallacy. 

Admitting  the  fact,  however,  to  be  as 
there  stated,  it  is  explicable  on  principles* 
rational,  obvious,  and  in  every  respect  con- 
sistent with  the  doctrine  of  domestic  origin. 

It  is  a  presumption  neither  extravagant 
nor  improbable,  that  the  same  pestilential  con- 
stitution of  atmosphere,  which  contributes  to 
the  generation  of  yellow  fever  here,  may 
reach  to  the  West-Indies,  and  there  be  pro- 
ductive of  similar  effects.  On  some  occasions, 
such  a  constitution  has  been  known  to  extend, 
not  simply  from  one  country  to  another,  but, 
over  half  the  people^  surface  of  the  globe. 

Tins  was  the  case  with  the  pestilential 
constitution  of  atmosphere,  during  the  reign 
of  the  Emperor  Justinian.  This  was  the 
case  with  a  similar  constitution,  in  the  four- 


C      153     ] 

teenth  century.  And,  this  was  particulary 
the  case,  with  that  peculiar  constitution,  which, 
a  few  years  ago,  gave  rise  to  the  disease  de- 
nominated influenza.  This  last  is  known  to 
have  pervaded  America,  the  West-Indies, 
Europe,  and  part,  or  perhaps  the  whole  of 
the  continent  of  Asia. 

Since  the  year  ninety  three,  as  mention- 
ed in  my  last  number,  febrile  diseases  have 
been  more  than  usually  prevalent  and  mortal, 
in  Jamaica,  and  others  of  the  West-India  Isl- 
ands, This  is  an  argument  of  much  weight, 
in  favour  of  the  opinion,  that  these  Islands 
have  not  been  exempt  from  the  influence  of 
that  constitution  of  atmosphere,  which  has 
encreased  the  malignity  of  the  diseases  of 
America. 

Nor  has  the  year  eighteen  hundred, 
been  less  productive  of  evidence  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  same  principle.  If,  for  some  time 
past,  the  West  Indies  and  the  United  States, 
have  been  ravaged,  in  common,  by  pestilen- 
tial diseases,  they  have  enjoyed,  during  the 
present  year,  something  like  a  common  exemp- 
tion, (12)  from  this  calamity.  The  long  wish- 

(12)  I  do  not  mean,  that  either  the  United  States,  or  the 
West-Indies,  have  been,  during  the  present  year,   wiolly  ex- 

Y 


C      154     ] 

ed  for  period  would  seem  about  to  return, 
when  health  shall  again  shed  her  influence 
through  the  atmospheres  of  both  places,  and 
sweep  away,  or  blast,  the  seeds  of  disease. 
In  the  declension,  therefore,  no  less  than  in 
the  attack  and  devastation  of  pestilence, 
these  regions  appear  to  be  connected  by  a 
kindred  fate.  But  the  atmosphere  being  their 
only  physical  bond  of  union,  must  necessarily 
be  the  medium  of  this  apparent  sympathy. 

I  will  now  take  the  liberty  of  stating, 
under  the  form  of  questions,  a  few  farther 
objections  to  the  importation  of  yellow  fever, 
and  will  thank  the  advocates  of  that  doctrine, 
to  answer  them,  on  principles  consistent  with 
medical  philosophy. 

I.  The  crews  of  several  vessels,  char- 
ged with  having  introduced  this  disease  from 
the  West-Indies,  are  known  to  have  arrived 
here  in  perfect  health.  How  is  it  possible, 
that,  in  these  instances,  contagion  could  have 


empt  from  pestilential  fever.  I  lament  that  the  reverse  of 
this  is  true.  They  have  only  escaped  that  extensive  epidemic 
rage,  by  which  they  have  been  assailed  for  some  time  past* 
How  long  our  present  good  fortune  may  continue,  it  is  not 
for  us  to  risque  a  prediction.  It  may  endure  for  many  years, 
yet,  perhaps,  even  the  next  season,  may  bring  us  a  return  oi 
©ur  late  calamity. 


[155     ] 

remained  attached  to  the  timbers  or  apparel 
of  the  vessels,  or  to  the  seamens'  clothes, 
during  their  whole  passage,  without  injuring 
any  one  on  board,  and  have  become  active 
and  deleterious  only  after  their  arrival  in  our 
port  ? — Real  contagion  (as  that  of  small  pox, 
measles,  &x.)  never  fails  to  act  in  a  very  dif- 
ferent manner.  It  poisons  amid  the  depura- 
ted atmosphere  of  the  ocean,  with  no  less 
certainty,  than  in  the  vitiated  air  of  a  large 
city. 

II.  It  is  known,  that  yellow  fever  pre- 
vails, to  a  certain  extent,  every  year,  in  ma- 
ny parts,  of  the  West-Indies.  Supposing  it 
then  to  be  a  contagious,  and  an  importable 
disease,  what  cause  can  the  advocates  of  this 
hypothesis  assign,  for  its  not  having  been  in- 
troduced into  Philadelphia,  or  some  other 
seaport  in  the  United  States,  when  we  were 
wholly  destitute  of  quarantine  regulations,  be- 
tween the  years  sixty  two  and  ninety  three:, 
notwithstanding  our  constant  and  extensive 
intercourse  with  the  Islands  ? 

Instead  of  yellow  fever,  let  us  suppose 
the  West-Indies  to  be  the  birth  place  and 
nursery  of  small  pox.  Let  us  further  sup- 
pose, all  our  citizens  to  have  been  suscepti- 
ble of  this  disease,  and  that,  for  upwards  of 


C      156     ] 

thirty  years,  that  is,  from  sixty  two  till  nine- 
ty three,  we  had  kept  up  an  extensive  and 
uninterrupted  intercourse  with  that  variolous 
climate.  Under  these  circumstances,  is  it 
probable,  that,  without  the  aid  of  the  most 
rigid  quarantine  regulations,  we  could,  for 
such  a  length  of  time,  have  escaped  the  in- 
troduction of  this  disease  ?  By  no  means — 
Common  sense  revolts  from  the  supposition, 
which  is  indeed  too  extravagant  to  be  admit- 
ted, even  by  the  advocates  for  the  doctrine 
of  importation. 

But  the  same  reasoning  would  apply, 
with  no  less  force,  to  yellow  fever,  were  it  a 
contagious  disease,  and  did  its  contagion  pos- 
sess but  half  the  activity  necessarily  bestowed 
on  it  by  its  importers. 

III.  But,  this  disease  exists  in  the  West- 
Indies,  not  only  every  year,  but  likewise  du- 
ring every  season  of  the  year.  Why,  then,  if 
it  be  contagious  and  importable,  is  it  never 
introduced  from  thence,  into  our  commercial 
cities,  except  in  the  latter  part  of  our  summer, 
or  in  the  first  of  our  autumnal  months  ? 

IV.  If  the  disease  in  question,  be  im- 
ported and  propagated  by  contagion,  why  is 
it  so  immediately  checked  in  this  place,  as 


C      157'    ] 

soon  as  the  temperature  of  our  atmosphere 
descends  beneath  the  exhaling  point  ?  i.  e. 
as  soon  as  it  becomes  so  low,  as  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  putrefactive  process  ?  Real  contagion  is 
not  of  a  nature  so  tender  and  perishable. 
Small  pox  and  measles  defy  the  rigor  of  the 
most  inclement  winter,  while,  like  the  per- 
ishable cause  of  yellow  fever,  putrefactive 
exhalation,  the  child  and  nurseling  of  sum- 
mer and  autumnal  heats,  expires,  as  soon  as 
they  withdraw  their  fostering  influence. 

V.  If  it  be  imported  and  propagated, 
not  through  the  medium  of  vitiated  air,  but 
only  by  human  contagion,  how  is  it,  that 
hundreds  have  been  attacked  by  it,  who  had 
only  breathed  the  atmosphere  of  our  streets, 
without  havingbeennearto  anyone  sick,  to  any 
corpse,  or  to  any  article  whatever  supposed 
to  have  been  infected  ?  Diseases  that  are  pro- 
pagated solely  by  contagion,  may  be  avoided, 
by  shunning  the  immediate  atmosphere  of  the 
sick.  But,  from  those  that  are  produced  by 
a  vitiated  state  of  the  air,  there  is  no  certain 
escape,  except  by  removing  from  the  place 
where  they  prevail. 

VI.  If  yellow  fever  be  so  frequently 
imported  into  this  place,  notwithstanding  all 
our  vigilance   and   exertion  to  the  contrary, 


C      153      ] 

why  has  it  never  been  introduced,  through 
the  same  channel,  into  Great  Britain  or  France, 
whose  commercial  intercourse  with  the  West- 
Indies  has  been  so  incomparably  extensive, 
and  where  no  quarantine  restrictions  are  im- 
posed on  vessels  from  that  quarter  ? — To  at- 
tribute this  exemption,  as  some  have  done,  to 
the  length  of  the  voyage,  from  the  West-Indies 
to  the  mother  countries,  is  an  argument  too 
weak  to  merit  a  serious  reply.  If  the  suppo- 
sed contagion  of  yellow  fever  can  lie  dor- 
mant, for  six  or  eight  months,  and  then  pro- 
duce disease  in  the  United  States,  it  may 
certainly  produce  a  similar  effect  in  Europe, 
after  having  lain  inactive  for  as  many  weeks. 

VII.  How  will  the  partizans  of  the  im- 
portation of  yellow  fever,  reconcile  their 
ideas  on  this  subject,  with  those  of  the  most 
respectable  physicians  in  the  West-Indies, 
who  declare,  that  with  them  this  disease  is 
"  wholly  destitute  of  contagion,"  and,  there- 
fore cannot,  either  in  the  timbers  or  rigging 
of  vessels,  in  articles  of  merchandize,  or  in 
the  clothing,  or  persons  of  the  sick,  be  im- 
ported from  thence  to  any  other  climate  ? 

VIII.  The   last  objection  I  shall  urge, 
the   contagion    and    importability    of 

ver.   is  founded  on  a  fact,  which, 


C      159     ] 

though  already  mentioned,  and  even  familiar 
to  every  one,  is  notwithstanding  of  sufficient 
importance  to  be  made  a  subject  of  further 
consideration. 

If  this  disease  be  propagated  only  by 
contagion,  why  is  a  summer  and  autumnal 
atmosphere,  particularly  the  vitiated  atmos- 
phere of  a  large  city,  absolutely  necessary 
to  its  communication  ?  Why  is  it  not,  like 
the  small  pox,  the  measles,  the  hooping- 
cough,  CvC.  communicable,  during  the  sum- 
mer and  autumnal  seasons,  in  the  pure  air  of 
the  country  ?  And,  why  will  it  not  spread,  in 
a  city,  in  the  depth  of  winter  ?  Finally,  why, 
contrary  to  the  laws  which  govern  all  other 
contagious  diseases,  is  the  progress  of  yellow 
fever,  as  certainly,  and  almost  as  suddenly, 
arrested  by  pure  air  and  cold  weather,  as 
life  is  destroyed  by  azotic  gas,  or  fire  extin- 
guished by  the  affusion  of  water  ? 

A  truly  contagious  disease,  is  a  kind  of 
self-dependent  evil,  which  can  be  but  little, 
if  at  all,  either  accelerated  or  retarded  in  its 
course,  by  any  practicable  condition  of  atmos- 
phere. 

As  a  candid  discussion  of  the  foregoing 
propositions,    may    tend  to    the   interest    of 


science  and  humanity,  by  shedding  light  on  a 
subject,  in  which  both  are  concerned,  I  flatter 
myself  the  matter  will  be  taken  up,  and  treated 
on  its  merits,  by  some  of  my  learned  fellow 
members  of  the  college  of  physicians,  or  by 
some  of  the  other  few  medical  characters  in  the 
United  States,  who  have  pronounced  yellow 
fever  to  be  an  imported  disease. 


No.     VIII. 

A  SUMMARY  OF  OBJECTIONS  AGAINST  THE  CONTAGION, 
AND  CONSEQUENTLY  AGAINST  THE  IMPORT  ABILITY  OF 
YELLOW  FEVER THE  FORMER  PLAGUES  OF  GREAT  BRI- 
TAIN NOT  IMPORTED  INTO  THAT  ISLAND,  BUT  GENERA- 
TED, IN  A  GREAT  MEASURE,  BY  THE  FILTH  OF  THE 
INKAEITAHTS CONCLUSION. 

JL  HE  present  communication,  which 
I  contemplate  as  my  last,  will  contain  but 
little  else  than  a  summary  of  the  opinions 
and  evidences,  that  have  been,  more  am- 
ply   detailed    in  my    preceding  numbers. 


C    161    3 

Of  the  merit  of  arguments  thus  a^ 
bridged,  simplified,  and  consolidated,  my 
readers  will  be  able  to  judge,  with  much 
more  correctness  and  facility,  than  if  they 
were  suffered  to  remain  in  their  present  state 
of  diffusion.  If  they  be  erroneous,  their  er- 
rors will  be  more  readily  detected  and  expo- 
sed ;  and  if  they  be  true,  their  truth,  like  the 
converging  rays  of  light,  will  glow  more  in- 
tensely, by  being  collected  to  a  point. 

My  reasons  for  doubting  of,  or  rather 
disbelieving  in,  the  contagious  nature  of  yel- 
low fever,  are, 

I.  A  similar  disbelief,  respecting  the 
contagion  of  this  disease,  being  entertained 
by  the  most  experienced  and  enlightened  phy- 
sicians of  the  West-Indies,  as  well  as  by  a 
majority  of  the  same  description  of  those, 
who  have  been  conversant  with  it  in  our  own 
country* 

Though  this  be  nothing  more  than  an 
argument  founded  on  opinion,  yet,  even  the 
opinions  of  men  so  respectable,  and  compe- 
tent to  judge  of  the  subject  in  question,  are 
not  to  be  rejected  without  caution. 

Z 


t    I62   3 

II.  Because  it  requires,  for  its  propaga- 
tion, a  vitiated  atmosphere,  and  is  not,  like 
other  contagious  diseases,  communicable  from 
the  sick  to  the  well,  in  the  uncontaminated 
air  of  the  country. 

The  non-communicable  nature  of  this 
disease,  in  the  air  of  the  country,  is  a  fact 
as  well  ascertained  as  any  one  connected 
with  medical  science.  Were  it  really  conta- 
gious, it  would,  as  formerly  observed,  like 
the  small  pox  and  measles,  bid  defiance  to 
every  situation,  and  diffuse  its  poison  through 
every  possible  description  of  atmosphere. 

III.  Because,  even  in  the  more  clean 
and  airy  parts  of  Philadelphia,  this  disease 
is  not  communicable  from  one  person  to 
another. 

This  was  particularly  observable,  in 
ninety  seven,  and  ninety  nine,  seasons  in 
which  yellow  fever  was  not  epidemic  over  the 
whole  city.  During  these  years,  such  per- 
sons as  contracted  the  fever  in  question,  by 
exposure  along  the  wharves,  or  in  the  lower 
parts  of  the  city,  and  were  nursed  in  situa- 
tions remote  from  the  exhalation  of  these 
places,  did  not,  in  any  instance,  communi- 
cate disease  to  their  physicians,  attendants. 


[      163      ] 

or  friends.  It  was  a  knowledge  of  this  fact, 
that  first  impressed  me  with  serious  doubts 
respecting  the   contagion  of  yellow  fever. 

IV.  Because  the  disease  is  immediate- 
ly extinguished  by  the  occurrence  of  a  frost, 
so  slight,  as  to  affect  only  the  air  of  the 
streets,  and  be  scarcely  perceptible  in  the 
atmosphere  of  our  houses,  which  are  consi- 
dered, by  the  advocates  for  importation,  as 
the  principal  reservoirs  of  the  febrile  conta- 
gion. This  is  a  fact,  of  which  none  of  the 
citizens   of  Philadelphia  can  be  ignorant. 

If,  then,  an  impression  on  the  external 
atmosphere  alone,  is  sufficient  to  check  the 
progress  of  our  autumnal  epidemic,  it  must 
necessarily  depend,  for  its  propagation,  on 
something  contained  in  the  air  of  our  streets, 
and  not  attached  to  any  of  the  contents  of 
our  dwellings.  But,  the  general  atmosphere 
of  a  place  can  be  impregnated  by  nothing 
less  than  a  general  exhalation ;  whereas, 
human  contagion  is  always  confined  to  the 
persons,  or  apparel  of  the  sick,  or  to  the  walls 
or  furniture  of  the  houses  where  they  lie. 

There  is  such  a  striking  similarity  of 
circumstances  between  the  decline  and  termi- 
nation of  yellow  fever,  in  Philadelphia,  and 


C      164     ] 

those  of  the  common  bilious  fever,  in  mar- 
shy places  (both  taking  place  on  the  occur- 
rence of  cold  weather)  as  must  convince 
every  candid  enquirer,  that  these  diseases 
depend,  for  their  existence,  on  the  same 
cause. 

V.  Because  yellow  fever  has  neither 
what  can  be  strictly  called  a  specific  charac- 
ter, nor  a  definite  period.  In  the  appear- 
ance of  its  symptoms,  it  is  the  most  irregular 
and  multiform  of  all  diseases  ;  and,  its  term 
of  duration  is  from  twenty  four  hours,  to  as 
many  days. 

In  these  respects,  it  differs  essentially 
from  small  pox,  measles,  scarlatina,  and  every 
other  description  of  truly  contagious  fever. 
When  these  latter  diseases  occur,  they  pass 
through  certain  regular,  well  defined  stages, 
and  each  stage  occupies  a  definite  time.  Nor 
is  it  in  the  power  of  the  practitioner,  either 
greatly  to  shorten  or  protract  these  periods, 
however  he  may  moderate  the  violence  of  the 
symptoms. 

Thus,  for  example,  when  attacked  by 
small  pox,  we  have,  what  is  denominated  the 
eruptive  fever,  the  eruption  itself,  the  matu- 
ration of  the  pustules,  and  their  subsequent 


C      165      ] 

desiccation.  Nor  is  it  possible  for  the  phy- 
sician, during  any  one  of  these  stages,  to 
check  the  disease  entirely,  and  prevent  the 
others  from  succeeding. 


Similar  observations  may  be  made, 
with  respect  to  the  whole  catalogue  of  truly 
contagious  fevers.  Having  once  taken  place, 
they  have  certain  stages  and  periods,  through 
which  they  will  inevitably  pass,  the  practi- 
tioner having  nothing  more  in  his  power,  than 
to  moderate  the  symptoms,  and  thus  render 
the  issue  less  dangerous  to  the  patient. 


How  different,  in  this  respect,  is  the 
case  with  yellow  fever!  Have  we  not  fre- 
quently seen  this  disease  arrested,  in  its  in- 
cipient state,  by  a  well  timed  blood-letting,  an 
active  cathartic,  or  a  plentiful  diaphoresis  ? 
Can  we  not,  by  these  means,  oftentimes  stifle 
the  monster  in  his  cradle,  and  rescue  our 
patients  from  his  forming  grasp  ?  And  does 
not  this  circumstance  tend,  still  farther,  to 
destroy  our  belief  in  the  descent  of  this  dis- 
ease from  specific  contagion  ?  Of  all  conta- 
gious fevers,  why  should  yellow  fever  alone 
resign  its  right  to  a  specific  character,  and 
a  determinate  period  ? 


[     166     ] 

Another  fact  deserves  to  be  mentioned, 
which  militates,  not  a  little,  against  the  opi- 
nion, that  yellow  fever  is  a  contagious  dis- 
ease. 

Every  species  of  human  contagion  (I 
mean  here,  febrile  contagion)  with  which  we 
are  acquainted,  must  remain,  in  the  system, 
a  certain  definite  period  of  time,  before  it 
produces  its  morbid  effects.  Nor  is  this  pe- 
riod widely  different,  in  different  instances 
of  the  same  disease. 

But,  this  is  by  no  means  the  case  with 
regard  to  yellow  fever.  Some  persons,  ex- 
posed to  the  poison  of  this  disease,  have  sick- 
ened in  twenty  four  hours  afterwards,  while 
others  have  escaped  till  the  expiration  of  nearly 
as  many  days. 

My  reasons  for  believing,  that  the  dis- 
ease in  question  is  not  imported,  but  origin- 
ates from  sources  among  ourselves,  are, 

I.  Because  it  is  not  a  contagious  disease, 
and  therefore  its  importation  is  utterly  imprac- 
ticable. A  febrile  poison,  which  cannot  be 
conveyed  from  the  city,  to  the  distance  of  a 
few  miles  into  the  country,  can  much  less  be 
wafted  through  the  pure    air  of  the  ocean, 


[      167      ] 

from  the  West-India  Islands,  to  the  shores  of 
America. 

II.  Because  it  was  never  introduced 
among  us,  from  the  year  sixty  two,  till  that 
of  ninety  three,  notwithstanding  our  want  of 
quarantine  regulations,  under  an  uninterrupt- 
ed and  extensive  intercourse  with  the  West- 
Indies. 

III.  Because  it  has  never  been  convey- 
ed into  Britain  or  France,  notwithstanding 
the  exemption  of  the  West-India  vessels  from 
quarantine  restrictions,  in  all  the  ports  of  the 
mother  countries. 

IV.  Because  all  attempts  that  party 
spirit  could  prompt,  and  ingenuity  devise,  to 
establish  the  importation  of  this  disease,  and 
to  ascertain  the  channel  of  its  introduction, 
have  hitherto  proved  unsatisfactory  and  abor- 
tive. 

Of  this  truth,  the  late  season  has  fur- 
nished a  striking  instance.  Though  perse- 
verance was  wearied,  and  patience  exhausted 
in  the  search,  yet  no  vessel  was  found,  that 
could  be  rationally  suspected  to  have  intro- 
duced the  disease. 


[      168     ] 

V.  Because  it  is  the  constant  product 
of  putrefaction  in  other  warm  climates,  abound- 
ing in  neglected  filth,  and  cannot,  therefore, 
fail  to  result  from  the  same  cause,  under  the 
tropical  temperature  of  the  summer  atmos- 
phere of  our  city. 

Nature  is  too  economical  and  wise,  to 
admit  into  her  system  a  plurality  of  causes  for 
any  one  phenomenon ;  and,  one  of  our  most 
familar  rules  of  philosophy,  teaches  us,  that, 
under  similar  circumstances,  the  same  causes 
are  always  productive  of  the  same  effects. 

VI.  Because  it  has  never  raged  among 
us,  except  during  those  months,  in  which, 
owing  to  the  influence  of  the  preceding  heats, 
our  atmosphere  has  been  loaded  with  putrid 
exhalations. 

If  it  be  a  disease,  depending  on  speci- 
fic contagion,  imported  from  the  West  Indies, 
why  has  it  never  been  introduced,  like  the 
small  pox,  in  the  winter  or  spring,  as  well 
as  in  the  months  of  summer  and  autumn  ? 

In  reply  to  this  it  has  been  said,  that  the 
operation  of  a  certain  degree  of  heat,  is  neces- 
sary to  prepare  the  air  for  the  reception  and 
propagation  of  the  contagion  of  yellow  fever. 


[      169      ] 

It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  heat 
alone  is  not  sufficient  to  produce  such  a  mor- 
bid condition  of  the  atmosphere.  In  Jamaica, 
and  others  of  the  West-India  Islands,  where 
the  heat  is  always  great,  such  places  as  are 
at  a  distance  from  morasses,  stagnant  wa- 
ters, and  putrefying  filth  in  general,  are  not 
only  exempt  from  yellow  fever,  but  are  among 
the  most  healthy  spots  on  the  globe. 

It  may  be  laid  down  as  a  physical 
■  maxim,  to  which  there  is  no  exception,  that 
neither  the  yellow  fever  of  America,  nor  the 
plague  of  the  East,  has  ever  been  epidemic,  in 
any  place,  where  the  atmosphere  was  not  load- 
ed with  putrid  exhalations. 

VII.  Because  a  genuine  pestilence,  or 
yellow  fever,  prevailed  among  the  Aborigines 
of  our  country,  previously  rto  the  existence  of 
commercial  intercourse  with  the  West-Indies, 
and  prevails,  even  at  present,  among  our  fel- 
low citizens,  in  many  places,  remote  from 
maritime  situations. 

In  proof  of  the  former  part  of  this  asser- 
tion, testimony  may  be  collected  from  the  late 
Doctor  Belknap's  history  of  Connecticut ; 
and,  in  support  of  the  latter,  we  have  the  evi- 

A  a 


C    170   ] 

dence  of  many  physicians,  of  strict  veracity 
as  men,  and  of  high  respectability  in  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  their  profes- 
sion. 

VIII.  The  last  reason  I  shall  mention, 
for  believing  the  yellow  fever  to  be  a  disease 
of  domestic  origin,  is,  the  concurring  be- 
lief of  the  most  distinguished  medical  and 
physical  characters  of  the  United  States, 
whose  opinion  it  would  be  presumptuous  to 
treat  with  indifference. 

The  present  controversy,  respecting  the 
origin  of  the  pestilential  epidemics  of  our 
country,  is  not  the  only  one  of  the  kind  to 
be  found  on  the  records  of  medicine.  A 
contrariety  of  opinion,  equally  striking,  existed 
with  regard  to  the  sources  of  those  plagues 
which  formerly  desolated  England,  and  many 
other  countries  of  the  old  world. 

I  beg  leave  to  detail,  in  their  own 
words,  the  opinions  of  two  celebrated  wri- 
ters, who  believed  that  the  plagues  of  Great 
Britain  were  not  introduced  from  abroad,  but 
generated  by  the  action  of  their  own  domestic 
causes.  In  Dr.  Jortin's  life  of  Erasmus,  we 
find  the  following  passage  : 


C      171      ] 

"  Another  letter  of  his"  (meaning  Eras- 
mus) "  to  the  same  friend,  is  very  singular. 
Erasmus  there  ascribes  the  plague,  from 
which  England  was  hardly  ever  free,  and  the 
sweating  sickness,  partly  to  the  incommodious 
form  and  bad  exposition  of  the  houses,  to 
the  filthiness  of  the  streets,  and  to  the  slut- 
tishness  within  doors." 

"  The  floors,"  says  he,  "  are  common- 
ly of  clay,  strewed  with  rushes,  under  which 
lies,  unmolested,  an  ancient  collection  of  beer, 
grease,  fragments,  bones,  spittle,  excrements 
of  dogs  and  cats,  and  every  thing  that  is 
nasty,"  &c, 

"  England"  (continues  Dr.  Jortin)  "  is 
happily  altered  for  the  better,  in  these  re- 
spects, from  its  condition  in  the  days  of  Eras- 
mus ;  to  which  change,  I  presume,  it  may, 
in  a  great  measure,  be  imputed,  that  we 
have  been  free,  for  so  many  years,  from 
the  plague." 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  Dr, 
Sims'  account  of  the  epidemics  of  London : 

"  In  1665,"  says  our  learned  author, 
"  immediately  after  the  frost,  began  the  plague 
in  London,  which  killed,  according  to  the  least 


t      1"2     ] 

computation,  sixty  eight  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  ninety  six.  Since  that  time  the 
plague  has  vanished  from  the  city,  and  all 
other  epidemics  seem  to  have  become  less  ma- 
lignant, owing  to  many  causes ;  among  which 
may  perhaps  be,  a  greater  use  of  fresh  vegi- 
table  food,  less  use  of  fish,  an  universal  use 
of  tea,  superior  cleanliness  in  our  persons,  a 
greater  attention  to  our  poor,  in  times  of  scar- 
city, which  are  now  scarcely  felt  in  any  ex- 
treme degree  ;  and,  lastly,  the  tremendous 
fire  in  1666,  since  which  the  streets  have 
been  very  much  widened,  and  the  houses  so 
enlarged,  that  the  same  number  of  inhabi- 
tants now  occupy  above  double  the  space." 

On  these  extracts  I  shall  offer  no  com- 
ment. They  exhibit  the  decided  opinion,  of 
two  very  able  judges,  that  Britain  was  indebt- 
ed, not  to  foreign  climates,  not  to  commerce, 
but  to  her  own  atmosphere,  aided  by  the  in- 
fluence of  her  domestic  causes,  for  the  waste- 
ful plagues,  and  other  epidemics,  which  so 
frequently  spread  desolation  over  a  great  part 
of  her  territory.  A  considerable  portion  of 
the  writings  of  Dr.  Sydenham,  is  little  else 
than  a  chain  of  facts,  calculated  to  establish 
the  same  doctrine. 

My  discussion  of  the  question  at  issue 
being  closed,  I  am  unwilling  to  retire  from  the 


[      !73      ] 

public  eye,  without  leaving  a  record  of  my 
regret,  for  the  evils  which  have  resulted  (not 
indeed  from  the  controversy  itself)  but,  from 
the  manner  of  the  controversy,  respecting  the 
origin,  nature,  and  treatment,  of  our  autum- 
nal pestilence. 

From  this  source  has  arisen  a  determined 
and  intolerant  spirit  of  party,  which  a  liberal 
and  enlightened  philosophy  disowns,  and 
humanity  has  had  too  much  reason  to  la- 
ment. This  tyrant  of  the  mind,  devouring 
every  subordinate  sentiment  and  feeling,  (as 
the  headlong  torrent  swallows  up  the  inferior 
rivulets,  in  its  course)  has,  in  some  instances, 
daringly  tresspassed  on  the  palladium  of 
private  character,  in  others,  dissevered  the 
bonds  of  social  intercourse,  and  too  frequently 
excited  distrust  and  animosity  between  indivi- 
duals, who  had  been  formerly  on  terms  of 
intimacy  and  friendship. 

Nor  is  this  the  whole  amount  of  the  in- 
fluence of  this  spirit  of  party.  It  has  contri- 
buted to  a  temporary  degradation  of  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine,  and  has,  not  a  little, 
encreased  the  quantity  of  human  misery,  and 
the  frequency  of  death,  by  diminishing  the 
confidence  of  the  public  in  medical  aid. 


[      174     ] 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  effects,  produced  by 
the  illiberal  and  unphilosophic  manner  of  the 
controversy  in  question — Effects,  which  every 
virtuous  citizen  must  devoutly  deplore,  and 
which  nothing  but  a  lapse  of  years  will 
efface ! 

Having  thus  endeavoured  to  obviate 
whatever  objections  have  been  raised  against 
the  doctrine  of  the  domestic  origin  of  yellow 
fever,  and  to  refute  all  arguments,  advanced 
In  favour  of  the  contrary  hypothesis,  I  shall 
submit  the  issue  to  the  effects  of  time,  and  to 
the  candid  decision  of  future  philosophers. 
In  the  present  instance,  I  am  much  more  con- 
cerned for  the  interest  of  truth  and  humanity, 
than  for  my  own  reputation,  as  a  medical 
enquirer.  If,  therefore,  from  wrong  impres- 
sions, or  a  want  of  better  information,  I  have 
been  unfortunately  engaged  in  attempting  the 
inculcation  of  an  error  on  the  public  mind,  it 
is  my  hope  and  fervent  wish,  that  some 
auspicious  combination  of  circumstances  may 
.speedly  occur,  that  a  spirit  of  illumination 
may  be  diffused  through  our  country,  to 
dispel  the  illusion,  and  avert  the  mischief! 


[      175     ] 


No.     IX. 

An  examination  of,  and  objections  to,  doctor  chis- 
holm's  account  of  the  introduction  of  a  conta- 
gious FEVER,  INTO  THE  TOWN  OF  ST.  GEORGE,  FR01\£ 
THE    COLONY    OF     BULAMA,    IN    THE     SPRING    OF      NINETY 

THREE THE      IMPROBABILITY      OF      THE    SAME      FEVER, 

HAVING  BEEN  BROUGHT  FROM  GRENADA  TO  PHILA- 
DELPHIA, DURING  THE  SUMMER  OF  THE  SAME  YEAH, 
EVEN  ADMITTING  THAT  IT  HAD  BEEN  INTRODUCED 
INTO   THE    FORMER    PLACE,  FROM    THE  COAST   OF  AFRICA. 


T 


HOUGH  sensible  of  the  extent,  to 
which  the  subject  of  the  preceding  numbers 
has  already  led  me  to  tresspass  on  the  time 
of  my  readers,  I  must  still  plead  a  claim  to 
their  farther  indulgence. 

I  am  induced  to  this,  neither  by  my 
devotion  to  a  spirit  of  controversy,  nor  by  a 
belief  that  any  portion  of  the  respectability  of 
a  work,  consists  in  the  number  of  its  pages ; 
but,  by  that  versatility  of  conduct,  and  mul- 
tiform mode  of  defence,  adopted  by  the  ad- 
vocates of  foreign  importation. 

No  sooner  are  these  indefatigable  com- 
batants defeated  in  one  point,  and  dislodged 
from  one  covert,  than  they  retreat  with  Parthian 


C      176     ] 

swiftness  to  another.  I  had  almost  said,  that 
like  the  Hydra  of  ancient  story,  they  are  no 
sooner  deprived  of  one  head  of  error,  than 
their  ever  wakeful  but  misguided  industry, 
compensates  them  for  their  loss  by  an  hun- 
dred more ! 

But,  fortunately  for  the  cause  of  truth, 
and  the  welfare  of  mankind,  their  numerous 
retreats  of  fallacy  have  been  so  far  detected 
and  exposed,  that  they  appear  to  be  reduced 
to  their  last  hope.  They  have,  at  length, 
been  obliged  to  entrench  themselves  in  an 
insulated  situation,  from  which  a  retreat  would 
seem  to  be  impracticable.  Their  only  alter- 
native now,  is  successful  defense,  or  uncon- 
ditional submission. 

To  drop  the  language  of  metaphor,  and 
adopt  a  style  more  suited  to  my  subject,  the 
most  active  and  decided  advocates  for  the 
importation  of  yellow  fever,  rest  the  whole  of 
their  doctrine  on  a  single  fact,  at  least,  they 
rely  on  a  single  source,  for  the  collection  of 
testimony  to  support  it. 

This  change  has  somewhat  altered 
the  complexion  of  the  controversy,  and  calls 
for  a  different  mode  of  refutation. 


C      177      ] 

Instead  of  admitting  our  late  autumnal 
epidemics  to  be  the  same  with  the  bilious  en- 
demic of  the  West-Indies,  and  other  warm 
regions — instead  of  granting  them,  as  they 
did  at  first,  to  be  produceable  in  every  tropi- 
cal country,  the  above  characters  declare 
them  to  be  necessarily  derived  from  the 
coast  of  Africa.  They  consider  them  as 
the  same  with  the  Boulam  fever,  reported, 
by  Dr.  Chisholm,  to  have  been  introduced, 
by  the  ship  Hankey,  into  the  Island  of  Gre- 
nada. In  short,  they  hold  them  to  be  nothing 
else,  than  so  many  branches  springing  direct- 
ly from  that  parent- stock. 

Such  appears,  at  present,  to  be  the  state  of 
the  controversy,  that  the  scale  of  victory  must 
incline  to  the  one  side  or  the  other,  accor- 
ding to  the  truth  or  fallacy  of  this  opinion. 
My  object,  in  this  number,  is,  to  subject  it  to 
a  faithful  and  candid  examination. 

-  In  attempting  this,  I  shall  be  led  to  the 
consideration  of  two  particular  and  distinct 
heads. 


I.  The  nature  and  force  of  the  evidence? 
adduced  by  Dr.  Chisholm,  in  support  of  hi* 

JB  b 


C      178      ] 

belief,    that    a    contagious    fever    was   intro- 
duced into  Grenada,  by  the  ship  Hankey. 

XT.  The  weight  of  testimony  brought 
forward,  by  the  advocates  of  foreign  origin 
in  this  place,  to  prove  the  importation  of  this 
fever  from  Grenada  to  Philadelphia, 

It  would  be  injustice  to  the  memory  of 
the  late  Dr.  Elihu  Smith,  of  New-York, 
(whose  pen  was  a  sunbeam  to  whatever  it 
touched),  not  to  acknowledge  myself  indebted 
to  his  industry  and  accuracy,  for  several  of 
the  facts  that  will  be  used,  in  the  discussion 
of  the  first  of  these  heads, 

I  am  induced  to  believe,  that  the  pesti- 
lence, described  by  Doctor  Chisholm,  was 
not  introduced  into  the  town  of  St.  George, 
by  the  ship  Hankey,  for  the  following  rea- 
sons : 

1.  Because  the  doctor  appears  to  be 
himself  the  only  physician  of  eminence  in 
the  West-Indies,  who  has  adopted  this  opi- 
nion. 

But,  the  catalogue  of  medical  charac- 
ters in  that  place,  who  advocate  the  doctrine 
of  West-India  origin,  is  extensive  and  illus- 


t     1**    1 

triousi  Among  these  I  must  notice,  in  parti- 
cular, Mosely,  M'Clean,  Lempriere,  Pinkard, 
Boreland,  and  Jackson,  (13)  men,  from  whom, 


(13)  Among  several  fanciful  opinions,  and  some 
interesting  matter,  contained  in  Dr.  Jackson's  late  publica- 
tion, entitled  "An  Outline  and  History  of  the  Cure  of  Fever," 
there  exists  one  error,  in  particular,  which  I  should  deem  my- 
self culpable  were  I  to  pass  unnoticed. 

What  must  render  this  error  peculiarly  exceptionable  to 
the  mind  of  an  American  physician,  is,  its  being  calculated  to 
disseminate  wrong  and  unfavourable  impressions,  relative  to 
the  state  of  medical  science  and  opinion  in  this  country; 

I  do  not  mean  to  charge  Dr.  Jackson  with  any  degree  of 
voluntary  misrepresentation.  I  am  confident,  that  the 
liberality  and  rectitude  of  his  mind,  are  incompatible  with  false 
and  dishonourable  intensions.  I  cannot,  however,  but  lament, 
that  he  should,  when  pdssessed  of  but  very  imperfect  informa- 
tion, have  ventured  to  touch  on  a  subject,  which  involves  the 
professional  reputation  of  some  of  the  most  respectable  physi- 
cians in  the  United  States. 

In  the  above  mentioned  work,  page  219,  (Edinburgh 
edition)  our  author  says,  "  The  other  party  (alluding  to  the 
physicians  of  Philadelphia)  maintains  the  origin  of  yellow 
fever  to  be  strictly  domestic,  but  that  the  immediate  source 
has  been  ordinarily  artificial,  viz.  damaged  cargoes  of  cofFee, 
onions,  Sec*  This  party,  at  one  time,  supposed  the  disease  to 
be  virulently  and  generally  contagious,  it  now  supposes  it  to  be 
so,  only  conditionally  and  in  a  low  degree-^— Various  proofs  and 
testimonies  are  adduced  in  support  of  these  contradictory 
opinions,  which,  publicly  and  privately  are  maintained  by  their 
respective  partizans,  with  more  zeal  than  discernment. 

Again,  page  220,  the  doctor  repeats,  "  The  opinion  of 
general  contagion,  maintained  at  one  time  by  this  party  (the 
advocates  of  domestic  origin)  is  now  abandoned,  but,  a  condi- 
tional or  limitted  contagion  is  still  believed  to  take  place." 

The  present  memoir  (which  contains  not  my  own  senti- 
ments alone,  but  the  sentiments  of  most  of  the  physicians  of 
Philadelphia,    who   believe  in  the  domestic  origin  of  yeUcwr 


£      130     ] 

to  use  Dr.  Chisholm's  own  expression,  "  it  i$ 
unsafe  to   differ,  on  medical  subjects." 


fever)  furnishes  abundant  proof  of  the    injustice  done  by  Dr. 
Jackson,  tofthat  extensive  and  respectable  class  of  practitioners. 

It  is  here  explicitely  declared,  (and  most  of  my  profes- 
sional brethren  concur  with  me  in  opinion)  that  so  far  from 
being  conditionally  contagious,  yellow  fever  is  not  contagious 
at  all ;  and  that,  so  far  from  being  essentially  dependent  on 
foul  shipping  or  damaged  cargoes,  these  constitute  only  one  of 
its  accidental  sources. 

Nor  is  this  opinion,  by  any  means,  of  recent  date.  It 
has  been  gaining  ground  ever  since  the  autumn  of  ninety  seven. 
"I  well  recollect,  that,  in  the  summer  of  ninety  eight,  when  Dr. 
Jackson  was  on  a  visit  to  Philadelphia,  the  non-contagious  na- 
ture of  yellow  fever  was  a  favourite  topic  with  many  of  my 
medical  acquaintance. 

With  respect  to  the  other  branch  of  the  hypothesis,  which 
Dr.  Jackson  has  thought  proper  to  attach  to  us,  I  believe  it 
has  never  been  advocated  by  any  physician,  either  in  this,  or 
in  any  other  country. 

It  has  indeed  been  said,  and  apparently  with  much  justice^ 
that  exhalation  from  damaged  coffee,  ,and  other  putrid  sub- 
stances, discharged  from  vessels  at  our  wharves,  gave  origin  to 
many  of  the  early  cases  of  yellow  fever  in  ninety  three,  ninety 
seven,  and  ninety  eight.  But,  no  one  has  ever  yet  committed 
such  an -outrage  on  probability,  as  to  suppose,  that  the  effluvia 
from  substances  so  limitted  in  extent,  could  alone  dis-seminate 
pestilence  through  all  Philadelphia,  and,  independently  of  con- 
tagion, keep  it  in  existence  for  several  months. 

.The  physicians  of  Philadelphia  are  no  less  sensible,  than 
those  who  have  held  staff  appointments  in  the  West  Indies, 
that  foul  air  from  damaged  coffee,  and  other  imported  veget- 
able substances,  is  of  the  same  nature,  and  will  produce  the 
same  disease,  with  that  given  out  by  our  own  domestic  sources 
of  putrefaction.  And,  they  have  uniformly  contended,  that  a 
general  epidemic,  must  have  for  its  cause  a  genera!  exhalation. 
It  is  true,  that  all  the  practitioners  of  medicine  in  this 
slty,  fell  into  an  error,  relative  to  the  contagion  of  yellow  fever, 


I     181     ] 

These   enlightened  physicians  were  in« 
Capable  of  regarding,  with  an  eye  of  indiffer- 


when  it  first  made  its  appearance  among  us  in  ninety  three. 
But,  by  the  advocates  of  domestic  origin,  this  error  has  been 
long  since  abandoned";  and  Dr.  Jackson  has  found  too  much 
cause  to  change  his  own  professional  opinions,  to  take  excep- 
tion at  changes  in  the  opinions  of  other  physicians. 

I  will  not  contend  with  the  doctor,  whether  the  medical 
partizans,  in  Philadelphia,  exhibit  most  "  zeal"  or  "  discern- 
ment" in  defence  of  their  respective  opinions.  But,  1  will 
venture  to  assure  him,  (and  I  feci  the  pride  of  an  American 
in  offering  the  assurance)  that,  within  the  term  of  the  last 
seven  years,  more  true  light  has  been  shed  on  the  origin,  nature, 
and  treatment  of  pestilential  diseases,  by  the  writers  of  the 
United  States,  "than  by  those  of  all  the  nations  in  Europe. 

I  know  of  no  proposition  more  weak  (I  might  have  said, 
more  absurd)  than  that  which  admits  yellow  fever  to  be  con- 
ditionally contagious,  or,  as  it  is  generally  expressed,  conta- 
gious only  under  certain  circumstances. 

If  a  disease  be  contagious  at  ail,  no  circumstances  can 
render  it  otherwise.  .  Contagion  forms  an  essential  trait  in  its 
character,  and  to  be  deprived  of  that  trait,  would  be,  to  be  de- 
prived of  one  of  the  most  stricking  qualities  of  its  nature,— 
would  be,  in  fact,  to  be  converted  into  another  disease. 

Who  ever  heard  of  small  pox,  measles,  lues  venerea,  or  any 
other  really  communicable  disease,  so  far  relinquishing  its  nature, 
as  to  become  only  conditionally  contagious  ?  It  is  indeed  true, 
that  at  times  certain  constitutions  resist  the  action  of  the 
poisons  of  these  diseases.  But  such  instances  are.  extremely 
rare,  and  do  not,  in  any  degree,  militate  against  their  uncondi- 
tionally contagious  nature.  They  only  bespeak  the  existence 
of  a  peculiar  cast  or  state  of  constitution,  in  the  persons  exempt 
from  the  influence  of  contagion. 

True  febrile  contagion  is  the  result  of  a  morbid  and 
specific  state  of  action,  in  certain  secreting  vessels  of  the  hu- 
man body.  Nor  can  these  vessels  do  otherwise  than  secrete 
this  contagion,  while  such  specific  action  exists.  But,  to  alter 
or  destroy  this  action,  in  which  the  essence  of  the  disease  con- 
sistf,  is  to  alter  or  destroy  the  disease  itseff. 


[      182     ] 

encc,  the  supposed  importation  of  pestilence* 
into  the  Island  of  Grenada.  Though  they 
felt  as  men,  for  the  calamity  before  them,  yet, 
without  suffering  themselves  to  be  misled, 
either  by  any  thing  of  novelty  in  its  appear- 


As  -well  might  we  say,  that  fire  can  burn  and  cold  chill  us, 
only  conditionally,  or,  that  the  saliva  of  a  rabid  animal,  and 
the  effluvia  of  the  Mancinella,  are  only  conditionally  poisonous, 
as  that  a  fever  of  a  contagious  nature,  is  propagable  only  under 
certain  circumstances. 

When  the  poison  of  a  contagious  fever  is  once  secreted^ 
it  is  then  a  certain  modification  of  matter,  capable  of  a  specific 
action ;  and,  when  applied  to  the  human  system,  whether 
amidst  pure  or  contaminated  air,  will  as  certainly  produce  that 
action,  as  any  other  physical  cause  will  give  rise  to  its  appro- 
priate effect. 

I  pass  in  silence,  as  being  foreign  from  my  subject,  certain 
illiberal  and  unfounded  remarks,  admitted  by  Dr.  Jackson  into 
the  same  publication,  relative  to  the  conduct  of  the  Philadel- 
phians,  during  the  yellow  fever  of  ninety  three. 

"•  Pusillanimity,  selfishness,  and  depravity  of  heart, "* 
are  the  heavy  and  degrading  charges,  with  which  our  author  has 
attempted  to  blacken  the  character  of  this  respectable,  bene* 
volent,  and  virtuous  people. 

I  will  not  enquire  from  what  source  the  doctor  has  derived 
his  information  on  this  subject.  But,  I  sincerely  regret  his 
having  been  misled  by  documents,  which  must  have  been  in- 
spired by  envy,  and  dictated  by  falsehood  ! 

If  ever  courage  and  magnanimity  appeared  to  tower  above 
the  common  level  of  humanity  !  If  ever  considerations  of  self- 
interest  were  completely  discarded  !  If  ever,  in  the  midst  of 
danger  and  death,  virtue  was  practised  purely  "  for  virtue's 
sake!"  Such  spectacles  ennobled  the  conduct  of  many  of  th« 
citizens  of  Philadelphia,  during  the  calamity  in  question. 

Were  I  not  restrained  by  motives  of  delicacy,  I  could 
mention  names,  among  which  that  of  "  Marseilles  good 
Bishop"  would  be  proud  to  be  enrolled ! 


C      183      ] 

ance,  or  by  popular  prejudice,  they  enquired 
into  its  origin,  with  the  calmness  and  delibera- 
tion of  philosophers.  ^ 

After  industriously  collecting,  and 
weighing  with  attention,  all  the  evidence  which 
the  subject  afforded,  they  found  no  reason  to 
believe,  that  either  the  pestilence  of  Grenada, 
or  that  which  appeared  afterwards  in  the  neigh- 
bouring Islands,  was  of  African  descent.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  more  they  enquired,  the 
more  perfect  was  their  conviction,  that  the 
disease,  in  question,  was  nothing  else  than 
the  bilious  endemic  of  their  climate,  heightened 
in  malignity  by  various  causes. 

Nor  did  their  conviction  terminate  here, 
In  the  course  of  their  researches  they  became 
persuaded,  that  the  disease  was  wholly  des- 
titute of  contagion,  and,  therefore,  incapable 
of  being  either  introduced  among  them,  from 
the  coast  of  Africa,  or  exported  from  the  West 
Indies  to  any  other  country, 

We  have,  then,  on  the  one  hand,  the  soli- 
tary evidence  of  Dr.  Chisholm,  surgeon  to  a 
small  establishment  of  ordinance  in  the  Island 
of  Grenada  ;  and,  on  the  other,  that  of  a  consi- 
derable number  of  medical  characters,  some  of 
them  first  in  military  rank,  and  all  of  them  ia 


[      184      ] 

the  first  grade  of  professional  eminence,  in 
the  places  where  they  resided.  It  requires 
no  great  power  of  discernment,  to  discover 
on  which  side  the  evidence  ought  to  prepon- 
derate. 

Though  the  testimony  of  mere  opinion 
cannot  be  admitted  as  conclusive  on  either 
hand,  its  weight  must  be  in  proportion  to  its 
accumulation,  and  to  the  respectability  of  those 
from  whom  it  is  derived. 

2.  Because  the  history  of  the  Hankey, 
previously  to  her  arrival  at  Grenada,  renders 
it  highly  improbable  that  she  could  have  intro- 
duced a  contagious  disease  into  that  Island. 


This  vessel  left  Bulama,  the  place  where 
her  disease  appears  to  have  originated,  on 
the  2 2d  of  November  1792,  and  arrived  at 
Grenada,  on  the  1 9th  of  February  1793.  Her 
passage  from  the  x>ne  Island  to  the  other, 
included  a  period  of  three  months  all  but  three 
days.  During  this  time  she  had  been  twice 
very  carefully  cleansed  and  purified,  viz. 
once  at  Bias  so,  and  once  at  St.  Jago.  She 
had  also  undergone  a  similar  process,  previ- 
ously to  her  sailing  from  the  Island  ©f 
Bulama. 


[      185     ] 

The  purification,  which  the  Hankey  un- 
derwent at  St.  Jago,  took  place  subsequently 
to  the  termination  of  disease  among  her  crew 
and  passengers.  In  point  of  time,  therefore, 
it  was  peculiarly  calculated  to  prevent  her 
from  continuing  any  longer  a  nidus  of  conta- 
gion. Provided  the  process  was  skilfully  per- 
formed, nothing  short  of  her  entire  destruction 
could  have  offered  a  higher  security  against 
future  danger* 

But,  these  purifications  amount  to  no- 
thing  more  than  presumptive  evidence,  that 
the  Hankey  was  clean,  on  her  arrival  at  Gre- 
nada. We  are  in  possession  of  other  testimony, 
more  positive  in  its  nature >  and  more  conclu- 
sive inks  tendency. 

This  vessel,  during  her  continuance  at 
the  Island  of  St.  Jago,  kept  up  an  uninter- 
rupted intercourse  with  the  Charon  and  Scor- 
pion, two  British  ships  of  war,  without 
communicating  a  symptom  of  disease  to  either. 
On  her  passage  from  thence  to  Grenada,  she 
touched  first  at  the  Island  of  Barbadoes, 
where  she  lay  three  or  four  days,  and  after- 
wards at  that  of  St.  Vincents,  where  she 
continued  about  a  day  and  a  half.  At  each 
place  the  crew  were  not    only  suffered  to    go 

C  c 


on  shore,  and  mingle  freely  with  the  inhabi- 
tants, but  the  latter  even  came  repeatedly  on 
board,  yet  no  disease  resulted  from  this  li- 
beral intercourse. 

With  the  facts  contained  in  this  last 
paragraph,  and  which  are  so  important  in  an 
enquiry  into  the  state  of  the  Hankey,  Dr. 
Chisholm  appears  either  to  have  been  igno- 
rant, or  to  have  suppressed  them  in  his  nar- 
rative respecting  that  vessel.  To  be  igno- 
rant of  them,  argued  a  palpable  deficiency  in 
the  necessary  knowledge  of  his  subject,  and 
their  suppression,  if  known,  could  not  have 
resulted  from  a  spirit  of  candour. 

If,  notwithstanding  the  above  inter- 
course with  the  Hankey,  the  crews  of  the 
Scorpion  and  Charon,  and  the  people  of  Bar- 
badoes  and  St.  Vincents,  escaped  infection, 
why  should  the  inhabitants  of  Grenada  have 
been  more  unfortunate  ? 

Is  there  any  thing  in  the  constitutions 
of  the  Grenadians,  calculated  to  render  them 
peculiarly  liable  to  pestilence  ?  Can  it  be  sup- 
posed that  the  matter  of  contagion,  in  the 
Hankey,  was  either  less  abundant,  or  less 
active,  when  she  touched  at  Barbadoes  and 
St.  Vincents,  than  when  she  arrived  at  Gre- 


[      187     ] 

nada  ?  Did  she  not  remain,  at  the  two  for- 
mer places,  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  to 
have  left  behind  her  the  seeds  of  disease  ? 
Finally,  is  there  a  single  circumstance,  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  Hankey  and  her  voyage, 
which  can  suggest  to  us  a  reason,  why  the 
Grenadians  should  have  been  infected  by  her, 
while  others,  equally  and  previously  exposed 
to  her,  escaped  unhurt  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  if  there  existed  any 
difference,  with  respect  to  the  chances  of 
escaping  infection,  this  certainly  appears  to 
have  been  in  favour  of  Grenada. 

The  actual  sickness  of  the  Hankey  had 
ceased  before  her  arrival  at  either  Island.  If, 
therefore,  time  could  have  had  any  effect  in 
destroying  the  contagion  she  is  supposed  to 
have  contained,  she  must,  doubtless,  have  had 
less  of  this  poison  on  her  arrival  at  Grenada, 
than  when  she  previously  touched  at  Barba- 
does  and  St.  Vincents. 

The  following  is,  at  least,  a  very  plausi- 
ble, and,  in  my  view,  a  just  statement  of  the 
matter  now  under  consideration  : 

The  pestilence  of  Grenada  exhibited,  on 
its  first  appearance    in  that  Island,  consider. 


[      188      ] 

able  novelty,  combined  with  uncommon  malign 
nity  of  character, 

It  did  not  immediatly  occur  to  Dr.  Chis- 
holm,  that  these  novel  phenomena  might  be 
the  effects  of  a  new  and  pestilential  constitUr 
tion  of  atmosphere,  co-operating  with  a  super- 
abundance of  the  common  exhalation  of  the 
place. 

To  use  his  own  words,  he  consi- 
dered the  disease,  as  in  all  respects,  a  "  nova 
pestis"  specifically  different  from  the  ende- 
mic of  the  West  Indies,  the  origin  of  which 
wTas  to  be  sought  for  only  in  a  distant  cli- 
mate. 

The  Hankcy,  having  arrived  a  short 
time  before  the  appearance  of  this  supposed 
foreigner,  was  fixed  on  as  the  vessel  in 
which  he  had  made  his  descent. 

This  charge  appears  to  have  been,  alto- 
gether, under  the  influence  and  direction  of 
accident.  It  was  necessary  for  Dr.  Chisholm 
and  his  associates  in  opinion,  to  select  some 
vessel,  as  the  vehicle  of  importation,  and  the 
Hankey,  having,  some  time  before,  had  a 
sickly  crew,  was  more  liable  to  suspicion  thai} 
i-my  other  vessel  then  in  the  harbour, 


C      189      ] 

Had  any  vessel  from  the  Levant,  arri- 
ved, about  the  same  time,  at  the  port  of  St. 
George,  the  Hankey  would,  in  all  probability, 
have  lain  unsuspected,  while  the  former 
would  have  been  stigmatized,  as  the  source 
of  the  calamity,  and  the  disease  have  been 
denominated  the  plague  of  the  East. 


It  was,  therefore,  the  novel  appearance 
of  the  epidemic,  in  question,  connected  with 
the  necessity  of  coming  to  some  decision  with 
regard  to  its  origin,  rather  than  any  direct 
evidence  against  the  Hankey,  that  subjected 
her  to  the  suspicion  of  being  an  infected 
vessel. 


Unfortunately  for  Dr.  Chisholm,  that 
impatient  propensity  we  feel,  to  assign  im- 
mediately some  cause  for  present  evils,  rai- 
sed perhaps  to  a  higher  pitch,  by  repeated  and 
pressing  interrogations  from  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town  of  St.  George,  precipitated  him 
into  a  decision  on  this  subject,  before  he 
had  given  it  a  sufficient  examination.  And, 
we  well  know  the  reluctance,  with  which 
men  relinquish  an  opinion,  for  the  truth  of 
which  they  have  pledged  their  judgment, 
and?  in  some  measure,  their  character. 


[      190      ] 

Physicians  of  discernment,  in  other 
parts  of  the  West-Indies,  remute  from  the  tu- 
mult and  confusion,  occasioned  by  the  pesti- 
lence of  Grenada,  had  an  opportunity  of 
viewing  the  disease,  in  all  its  relations,  with 
that  degree  of  calmness  essential  to  success 
in  philosophical  researches.  No  cause  ex- 
isted to  hurry  them  into  a  premature  deter* 
mination,  with  respect  to  either  the  origin  or 
nature  of  the  evil.  Their  decision,  there- 
fore when  formed,  was  neither  the  hasty  result 
of  the  first  impressions  made  by  the  novelty 
arid  malignity  of  the  disease,  nor  was  it  the 
offspring  of  a  troublesome  importunity  among 
the  inhabitants,  pressing  in  their  enquiries 
alter  the  birth  place  of  the  calamity.  It 
was  the  mature  result  of  accumulated  and 
well  digested  evidence.  But,  this  decision, 
as  already  observed,  was  uniformly  in  favor 
of  the  doctrine  of  West-India  origin. 

Similar  to  the  foregoing  situation  of 
Doctor  Chisholm,  and  equally  calculated  to 
betray  into  error,  was  that  of  the  physicians 
of  Philadelphia,  in  the  autumn  of  ninety 
three. 

These  gentlemen  were  the  first,  who 
were  called  on  to  decide  respecting  the  ori- 
gin of  a  disease,  novel  to  them  in  several  of 


[      192     ] 

its  symptoms,  and,  in  its  general  malignity, 
devastation,  and  rapidity  of  progress,  alto- 
gether unprecedented  in  the  annals  of  our 
country. 

Alarmed  and  disconcerted  by  such  a 
formidable  combination  of  circumstances,  and, 
constantly  importuned  by  the  interrogatories 
of  their  fellow  citizens,  most  of  them,  in 
like  manner  with  Dr.  Chisholm,  were  hur- 
ried into  an  opinion,  founded  on  a  hasty  and 
Very  partial  view  of  their  subject. 

Either  unacquainted  with,  or  not  im- 
mediately adverting  to,  the  laws  which  go- 
vern epidemic  diseases,  they  conceived  it 
impossible  that  a  pestilence  of  such  gigantic 
force,  and,  in  many  respects,  so  different  from 
the  common  diseases  of  our  country,  could 
originate  from  the  action  of  domestic  causes. 
Hence,  by  one  hasty  and  inconsiderate  step, 
they  were  precipitated  into  that  abyss  of  error 
and  inconsistency,  which  constitutes  the  doc- 
trine of  foreign  importation. 

But,  the  case  was  different  with  most  of 
the  physicians  of  New-York,  Baltimore,  Eos- 
ton,  and*  Norfolk ;  not  because  they  were 
more  enlightened  than  those  of  Philadelphia, 
but,  because  their    situations  were   more  fa- 


I      192     ] 

vourable  for  the  discovery  of  truth.  Remote 
from  the  place  where  yellow  fever  appeared 
first,  with  unmasked  features,  they  were  at 
liberty  to  suspend  their  opinion,  respecting 
its  origin,  till  the  subject  had  undergone  the 
necessary  investigation.  Nor  was  this  sus- 
pension of  opinion  without  its  effect.  When 
the  disease  appeared,  finally,  at  their  own 
doors,  actual  observation  on  it,  instead  of 
embarrassing  them,  served  only  to  confirm 
them  in  that  opinion,  for  which  they  were 
prepared  by  preceding  circumstances,  name- 
ly, that  it  was  not  the  descendant  of  a  foreign 
climate,  but,  an  evil  generated  and  pampered 
among  ourselves. 

Hence  it  would  appear,  that  medical 
characters  have  been,  at  all  times,  induced 
to  adopt  the  doctrine  of  foreign  importation, 
or  that  of  domestic  origin,  accordingly  as  they 
have  formed  their  determination  from  a  partial 
and  hasty,  or,  from  a  general  and  deliberate 
view  of  the  subject.  And,  hence  the  reason, 
why  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  older  prac- 
titioners of  Philadelphia,  compared  with  the 
other  commercial  cities  of  the  United  States, 
persist  in  their  belief  of  the  former  doctrine. 

The  younger  physicians  of  this  country, 
generally,    but  particularly  those   who  have 


I     193     ] 

received  their  education  at  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  since  the  year  ninety  three.; 
and  who,  having  no  prejudices  to  encounter 
relative  to  the  present  controversy,  were,  on 
that  account,  the  more  susceptible  of  truth, 
have  almost  universally  adopted  the  opinion, 
that  our  late  epidemics  were  of  domestic  ori- 
gin. 

3.  A  strong  circumstantial  evidence  of 
the  fallacy  of  any  doctrine,  is,  its  advocates 
being  obliged  to  involve  themselves  in  incon- 
sistencies in  attempting  its  support.  Truth 
is  simple  and  plain,  seldom  requiring  to  be 
defended  by  intricate,  and  never  by  contradic- 
tory arguments, 

Let  Us  examine,  by  this  test,  Dr.  Chis- 
holm's  hypothesis,  respecting  the  introduction 
of  pestilence,  by  the  Hankey,  into  the  Island 
of  Grenada. 

We  are  told,  by  the  doctor,  in  the  se- 
venty ninth  page  of  his  "  Essay  on  the  Ma- 
lignant, Pestilential  Fever,"  that  a  warm  cli- 
mate, such,  for  example,  as  that  of  Grenada^ 
and  of  the  West-Indies  in  general,  is  less 
friendly  to  the  propagation  of  contagious  dis- 
eases, than  a  temperate  one,  such  as  that  of 

Dd 


[      194      ] 

Great  Britain,  and  of  most  of  the  countries  o£ 
Europe.  We  are  farther  informed  by  him, 
in  the  ninety -first  page  of  the  same  work, 
that  between  the  first  of  June,  and  the  middle 
of  August  1793,  during  part  of  which  peri- 
od, the  pestilence  of  Grenada  was  at  its 
height,  two  fleets  sailed  for  Europe  from 
the  port  of  St.  George. 

As,  from  our  author's  own  narrative, 
most  of  the  shipping  in  the  harbour,  particu- 
larly that  part  engaged  in  the  regular  trade 
with  Britain,  appears  to  have  suffered  from 
the  ravages  of  the  epidemic,  it  is  not  possi- 
ble, that  all  the  vessels  belonging  to  these 
two  fleets,  could  have  entirely  escaped.  Some, 
probably  the  greater  part  of  them,  on  sailing 
for  Europe,  must  have  carried  along  with 
them  more  or  less  of  the  disease  in  question. 
Yet,  without  being  previously  subjected, 
either  to  quarantine  or  cleansing,  they  all 
entered  their  destined  ports,  and  their  crews 
mingled,  as  usual,  with  the  inhabitants,  with- 
out disseminating  among  them  the  seeds  of 
pestilence. 

If,  then,  after  a  voyage  of  only  four  or 
five  weeks  from  a  sickly  port,  and,  without 
being  cleansed,  two  whole  fleets  were  unable 
to  introduce  the  above  disease  into  any  of  the 


[      195     ] 

ports  of  Great  Britain,  where,  according  to 
Dr.  Chisholm,  the  climate  is  friendly  to 
the  propagation  of  contagious  diseases  ;  how 
is  it  possible,  that  after  a  voyage  of  nearly 
three  months  from  the  place  of  her  sickness, 
and,  after  two  very  faithful  cleansings,  the 
Hankey  alone  could  have  introduced  the 
same  disease  into  the  Island  of  Grenada, 
where,  according  to  the  same  author,  the 
atmosphere  is  unfriendly  to  the  existence  and 
spreading  of  contagion  ? 

The  following  is  a  brief  but  fair  spe- 
cimen of  the  logic  of  Dr.  Chisholm,  on  this 
point : 

The  climate  of  Grenada  is  unfriendly 
to  the  introduction  and  propagation  of  conta- 
gious diseases,  while  that  of  Great  Britain 
is  favourable  to  both.  But,  in  the  year 
ninety  three,  one  sickly  vessel,  which  had 
been  three  times  cleansed  and  purified,  from 
the  commencement  of  her  sickness,  intro- 
duced a  contagious  fever  into  the  former 
place  ;  whereas,  in  the  same  year,  two  whole 
fleets,  a  great  part  of  which  had  been  rava- 
ged by  the  same  fever,  and,  had  not  been 
subjected  to  purification  at  all,  were  una- 
ble to  disseminate  contagion  through  the 
1  atter, 


C      126         ] 

As  the  doctor  has,  by  his  singular  mode 
pf  reasoning,  proposed-  this  physical  enigma, 
in  the  first  edition  of  his  "  Essay  on  Malignant 
Pestilential  Fever,"  I  flatter  myself  he  will 
favour  the  public  with  a  solution  of  it  in  the 
second,  which,  I  am  told,  he  is  now  prepa- 
ring for  the  press. 

For  the  purpose  of  illustrating,  and  furr 
ther  impressing  on  Dr.  Chisholm's  mind, 
(should  these  memoirs  ever  fall  into  his  hand) 
the  inconsistency  of  his  reasoning,  in  the 
above  instance,  I  beg  leave  to  lay  before  him 
the  following  proposition  : 


Let  us  suppose  two  persons,  A  and  B, 
to  be  possessed  of  different  degrees  of  suscep- 
tibility, with  regard  to  the  influence  of  conta- 
gion. A,  whose  susceptibility  is  much  the 
weakest,  is  obliged  to  sleep,  for  a  single  night, 
pn  a  bed,  where,  several  weeks  before,  a 
person  had  died  of  a  contagious  disease.  The 
bed,  however,  had  been  previously  well 
aire.d,  and  all  its  apparel  carefully  washed. 
B,  on  the  other  hand,  who  is  constitutionally 
pYuch  more  liable  to  be  injured  by  contagion, 
is  pbliged  to  sleep,  for  ten  or  twelve  nights 
ijn  succession,  on  a  bed  where  a  person  had 
■-]  of  the  same  disease,  a  few  days  before^ 


I      197     ] 

and  where  no  precautions  of  cleanliness  had 
been  adopted.  ■ 

I  beg  to  be  informed  by  the  doctor,  or 
any  of  his  adherents,  which  of  the  aforesaid 
persons  runs  the  greatest  risque  of  contracting 
disease  ? 

Let  the  names  be  changed,  and,  other 
circumstances  remaining  as  above,  A  will  be 
Grenada,  and  B,  Great  Britain,  in  the 
case  of  the  fever  described  by  Dr.  Chis- 
holm. 

Our  author's  making  the  pestilence  of 
Grenada,  so  readily  introduceable,  by  single 
vessels,  into  Philadelphia,  in  the  summer  of 
ninety  three,  from  thence  to  St.  Pierre,  and, 
from  thence,  again  to  Grenada,  the  climates 
of  all  which  places  are  much  warmer  than 
that  of  Great  Britain,  where  it  could  not  be 
propagated,  even  by  fleets,  is  nothing  more 
than  a  continuation  of  the  above  inconsis- 
tency. 

4.  Another  reason  for  believing,  that 
the  pestilence  of  Grenada  was  not  imported 
from  the  coast  of  Africa,  but  generated  by 
the  action  of  domestic  causes,  is,  that  in  a 
short  time,  after  its  appearance  in  the  port 


[      198      ] 

and  town  of  St.  George,  it  became  the  sole 
disease  of  the  place,  by  either  banishing  all 
others,  or  obliging  them  to  do  homage,  by 
assuming  its  symptoms. 

As  nothing  can  be  more  explicit  and 
satisfactory  on  this  head,  than  the  account 
given  of  it,  by  Dr.  Chisholm  himself,  I  beg 
leave  to  quote  it,  in  his  own  words  : 

"  Most  other  diseases,"  says  the  doctor, 
"  degenerated  into,  or  partook  very  much  of 
the  nature  of  this.  Dysenteries  suddenly 
stopped,  and  were  immediately  succeeded  by 
the  symptoms  of  the  pestilential  fever.  Ca- 
tarrhal complaints,  simple,  at  first,  soon 
changed  their  nature  :  Convalescents  from 
other  diseases  were  very  subject  to  this ; 
but,  it  generally  proved  mild.  Those  labour- 
ing at  the  time,  under  chronic  complaints, 
particularly  rheumatism  and  hepatitis,  were 
also  very  subject  to  it.  The  puerperal  fever 
became  malignant,  and,  of  course,  fatal ;  and 
even  pregnant  negro-women,  who  otherwise 
might  have  had  it  in  the  usual  mild  degree, 
peculiar  to  that  description  of  people,  were 
reduced  to   a  very  dangerous  situation  by  it." 

Had  Dr.  Chisholm  been  endeavouring 
to  prove  the  Grenadian  origin  of  the  disease, 


[      199      ] 

in  question,  he  could  not  have  adduced  a 
more  forcible  argument,  in  favour  of  his  opi- 
nion, than  that  furnished  by  the  above  detail 
of  facts. 

For,  by  physicians,  who  have  made 
the  subject  of  epidemics  their  study,  it  has 
long  been  admitted  as  a  physical  axiom,  that 
a  disease  which  banishes  from  the  place 
where  it  prevails,  or  assimilates  to  itself,  all 
others,  must  result  from  a  morbid  condition 
of  the  atmosphere,  in  general :  I  mean  the 
atmosphere  of  the  place  where  the  disease 
exists.  From  this  self-evident  truth  (if  any 
truth  in  physics  be  self-evident)  I  am  confi- 
dent Dr.  Chisholm  has  too  much  discern- 
ment and   candour  to  withhold  his  assent. 

But,  such  a  state  of  atmosphere  as  the 
above,  requires  for  its  production,  a  cause 
much  more  powerful  and  extenfive,  than  the 
quantity  of  contagious  effluvia,  issuing  from 
the  bodies  of  a  few  hundred,  or  even  of  many 
thousand  sick  and  dead. 

Dr.  Chisholm  admits,  that  the  conta- 
gion of  the  pestilential  fever  of  Grenada,  ne- 
ver operated  at  the  distance  of  more  than  ten 
feet  from  its  source.  How,  then,  is  it  possible, 
that  a  cause  so  circumscribed,  and  compara- 


[      200     ] 

lively  feeble  (particularly  as  the  sources  of 
it  were  not  extremely  numerous)  could  so  far 
effect  the  whole  atmosphere  of  a  place,  as  to 
suspend  or  modify  all  its  native  diseases  ? 
The  supposition  is  certainly  an  extravagant 
one,  and  can  originate  only  in  a  want  of  in- 
formation, or  a  negligence  of  reflection. 

The  small  pox  has  been  known  to  infect 
at  double  the  distance,  assigned  as  the  limit 
of  the  above  contagion.  Suppose,  then,  this 
disease  had  been  introduced,  simply  by  in- 
fection, into  Grenada,  instead  of  the  pesti- 
lence described  by  Dr.  Chisholm,  would  it^ 
in  the  space  of  a  few  weeks,  have  so  com- 
pletely revolutionized  the  atmosphere  of  the 
place,  as  to  banish  all  other  diseases,  or 
transform  them  into  its  own  likeness? — By 
no  means.  It  would,  as  in  other  places, 
have  spread  gradually  and  slowly  from 
house  to  house,  allowing  the  usual  diseases 
of  the  season  to  pursue  their  customary 
course; 

If  a  disease,  simply  contagious,  can  so 
far  usurp  the  ascendency  in  a  place,  as  to 
banish,  or  assimilate  to  itself  all  others,  why 
is  not  this  the  case  with  small  pox,  in  Phi- 
ladelphia, during  the  seasons  of  inoculation  ? 


C      201      ] 

The  number  of  persons,  in  this  city, 
affected  with  small  pox,  in  the  natural  way, 
and  by  inoculation,  every  spring,  is  superior 
to  that  of  those,  who  were  ill  of  pestilence, 
at  Grenada,  in  the  year  ninety  three.  The 
volume  of  variolous  contagion  with  us  must, 
therefore,  be  greater  in  at  least  the  same 
proport;on. 

But  this  circumstance  has  no  effect,  in 
either  banishing  or  modifying  our  vernal  dis- 
eases. We  have  our  pneumonies,  our  rheuma- 
tisms, and,  our  catarrhs,  in  the  same  number, 
and  with  the  same  symptoms,  as  we  would, 
were  the   small  pox  unknown  in  our  country. 

This  latter  disease,  being  in  some  sea- 
sons more,  and  in  others  less  malignant,  is 
evidently  influenced  by  the  temperature  of 
the  weather,  and,  by  certain  states  of  the 
air  ;  but,  has  never  yet  been  able,  by  its 
contagion  alone,  to  give  rise  to  a  variolous 
constitution  of  atmosphere — has,  never  yet 
been  able,  through  this  medium,  to  make 
its  co-temporary  diseases  acknowledge  its 
empire,  and  assume  its  livery. 

It  has  been  long  my  opinion,  that  a 
variolous  constitution  of  atmosphere,   produ- 

E  e 


[      202      ] 

ced  originally,  not  by  local  contagion,  but, 
by  the  operation  of  certain  physical  causes? 
which  philosophers  have  hitherto  sought 
after  in  vain,  may,  in  any  populous  district  or 
country,  give  rise  to  an  epidemic  small  pox, 
which  shall  reign,  for  a  while,  the  monarch 
of  the  place.  But,  I  again  repeat,  that  me- 
dical records  furnish  no  instance,  where  either 
small  pox,  or  any  other  contagious  fever, 
has  solely,  by  the  power  of  contagion,  so 
far  revolutionized  the  general  atmosphere, 
as  to  suspend  or  modify  all  other  diseases. 

Nor  is  it  possible  that  such  an  event 
can  ever  occur,  till  the  general  laws  of  na- 
ture submit  to  the  controul  of  topical  causes. 
As  well  might  we  expect  the  fervour  of  the 
tropics  to  be  subdued  by  the  coldness  of  an 
ice-house,  or,  the  inclemencies  of  a  polar  sky, 
to  yield  to  the  warmth  of  a  few  small  fires, 
as  the  general  constitution  of  the  atmosphere 
to  be  counteracted  by  the  influence  of  local 
contagion. 

5.  My  last  argument  against  the  impor- 
tation of  the  pestilential  fever  of  Dr.  Chis- 
holm,  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  is,  because 
it  attacked  those  recently  from  Europe,  and 
other  high  latitudes,  much  more  readily  than 
the  natives  and  old  inhabitants  of  the  Island 


[      203      ] 

of  Grenada.  Negroes,  in  particular,  enjoyed 
a  greater  exemption  from  it,  than  any  other 
description  of  people. 

To  physicians  of  reading  and  observa- 
tion it  is  unnecessary  to  remark,  that  such 
discriminations  constitute  no  part  of  the  char- 
acter of  truly  contagious  fevers.  The  poison 
of  these  diseases  assails,  with  equal  success, 
the  black  and  the  fair,  the  native  of  the  tro- 
pics, and  the  hardy  descendant  of  the  cli- 
mates of  the  north.  Of  the  truth  of  this, 
small  pox,  measles,  and  lues  venerea,  furnish 
conclusive  testimony. 

When  there  was  every  possible  chance 
for  introducing  the  contagion  of  the  pestilence 
of  Grenada  (supposing  the  disease  .  to  have 
been  contagious)  into  the  Island  of  Great 
Britain,  the  inhabitants  remained  in  perfect 
safety.  Why,  then,  should  the  very  same 
people  have  been  so  peculiarly  susceptible 
of  disease,  from  the  same  poison,  on  remo- 
ving from  their  own,  to  a  tropical  region? 
Admitting  this  apparent  augmentation  of  sus- 
ceptibility to  have  been  real,  it  would  have 
operated  in  contradiction  to  the  well  known 
fact,  that  warm  climates  are  more  unfriendly 
than  temperate  ones,  to  the  existence  and 
propagation  of  febrile  contagion, 


C      204      ] 

But,  the  peculiar  liability  of  Europeans 
to  the  foregoing  disease,  is  easily  explicable 
on  a  different  principle. 

Tropical  climates,  though  unfriendly 
to  the  existence  and  operation  of  contagion, 
are  the  hotbeds  of  putrefaction,  and  the  labo- 
ratories of  noxious  effluvia.  These  gases  min- 
gling with  the  general  body  of  the  atmos- 
phere, perpetuate  in  it  something  of  a  pesti- 
lential constitution,  the  power  and  malignity 
of  which,  are  at  times  greatly  augmented, 
by  the  influence  of  uninvestigated  but  general 
causes.  This  appears  to  have  been  the 
case  in  the  town  of  St.  George,  in  the  year 
ninety  three. 

Such,  however,  is  the  power  cf  habit, 
that  the  natives  and  old  inhabitants  of  the 
place,  (though  apparently  possessed  of  feeble 
health)  having  been  long  accustomed  to  a 
vitiated  atmosphere,  bore  its  impressions 
without  much  injury,  while  its  malignity  was 
destructive  to  robust  strangers,  from  high 
latitudes,  who  had  always  been  used  to 
uncontaminated  air, 

It  is  thus,  that,  from  habit,  an  enfeebled 
Turk  will  himself  devour,  with  impunity,  as 


[      205      ] 

much  opium,  as  would  prove  fatal  to  several 
hardy  Europeans. 

If,  instead  of  the  natives  of  Great  Bri- 
tain removing  to  the  town  of  St.  George,  the 
heated  and  contaminated  atmosphere  of  that 
place  could  have  been  transported  to  them,  it 
would,  independently  of  contagion,  have 
affected  them  with  pestilence,  in  their  own 
climate,  no  less  than  it  did  beneath  that  of 
the  tropics. 

Such  are  my  reasons  for  believing,  that 
the  pestilence  of  Grenada,  in  the  year  ninety 
three,  was  not  imported  into  that  Island  from 
the  coast  of  Africa,  but  generated  by  the 
action  of  domestic  causes. 

But,  even  admitting  that  it  was,  in 
the  first  instance,  carried  by  contagion  from 
the  coast  of  Africa  to  the  Island  of  Gre- 
nada, what  evidence  is  there,  that  it  was 
introduced  from  thence  into  the  city  of  Phi- 
ladelphia ? 

Can  the  advocates  of  importation  point 
out  any  line  of  actual  communication,  in  the 
summer  of  ninety  three,  between  this  city 
and  the  port  of  St.  George,  which  could  have 


[      206      ] 

served  as  a  channel  for  the  admission   of  this 
disease  ? 

So  conscious  are  these  gentlemen  of  the 
incompetency  of  their  resources,  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  this,  that  they  have  never 
dared  to  commit  themselves  in  the  attempt. 
They  have  only  told  us,  in  general  terms, 
that  the  disease  was  introduced  among  us, 
leaving  the  particular  manner  to  our  own  con- 
jecture. 

They  did,  indeed,  during  our  distresses, 

in  ninety  three,  at  several  different  times,  fix 
on  as  many  different  vessels,  as  the  vehicles 
of  its  conveyance.  Their  misfortune,  how- 
ever, was,  that  neither  of  those  vessels  had, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  had  the  slightest 
intercourse  with  the  Island  of  Grenada. 

The  only  argument  I  have  ever  heard 
advanced,  by  the  advocates  of  importation,  to 
prove  that  cur  epidemic  of  ninety  three,  was 
derived  from  the  Island  of  Grenada,  is  so 
pitifully  weal:,  that  it  is  impossible  to  listen  to 
it  with  a  serious  countenance.  It  is  taken 
n  a  note  to  page  201  of  Dr.  Chisholm's 
"  Essay  on  the  Malignant  Pestilential  Fever/' 
I  shall  give  it  in  the  doctor's  own  words, 
begging  the  reader  (should  he  attach  to  it  no 


C     207      ] 

more  weight  and  respectability  than  I  do)  to 
be  assured,  that  I  introduce  it,  not  because  I 
think  it  worthy  of  refutation  ;  but,  to  show 
by  what  flimsy  testimony  men  will  struggle 
for  the  support  of  a  favourite  doctrine. 

"  That  they,"  (meaning  the  fevers  of 
Grenada  and  Philadelphia)  "  were  the  same," 
(says  our  author)  and  consequently  the  latter 
a  descendant  of  the  former,  "  the  following 
fact  renders  evident :  A  vessel  from  Philadet" 
phia  introduced  the  disease  into  St.  Pierre, 
Martinique,  in  October  1793.  Another  vessel 
from  New-London  touched  at  St.  Pierre,  in 
her  way  to  Grenada,  and  received  the  infection. 
On  her  arrival  in  February  1794,  the  sick 
were  put  under  my  charge,  and  I  found  the 
disease  to  be  my  old  enemy,  the  pestilential 
fever.  I  treated  it  with  mercury  and  was 
successful." 

As  there  are  certain  truths  so  clear,  in 
themselves,  that  reasoning  cannot  render 
them  more  impressive,  there  are,  in  like  man- 
ner, certain  arguments  so  consummately 
weak,  that  in  refutation  of  them  reasoning 
would  be  lost,  as  we  attempt,  in  vain, 
to  increase  the  darkness  of  a  place,  from 
whence  all  light  has  been  already  exclu- 
ded. 


C      208      ] 

I  shall  dismiss  this  subject,  by  a  single 
remark,  namely,  that  to  depend  solely  for  the 
support  of  any  doctrine,  on  an  argument  so 
feeble  and  inconclusive  as  the  foregoing  one, 
bespeaks  either  a  mind  disqualified  for  con- 
troversy, or  a  cause  incapable  of  defence. 


No.     X. 

A    STATEMENT      OF      THE     ANALOGIES      BETWEEN     BILIOUS 

AND      YELLOW      FEVER OUTLINES      OF      THE      PRACTICE 

PROFER      TO      BE      PURSUED      IN       YELLOW       FEVER THE 

OPINION      THAT        YELLOW      FEVER       IS      A       DISEASE      OF 

DOMESTIC    OR    AMERICAN    ORIGIN,    NOT     NEW VARIOUS 

POINT%      OF      DIFFERENCE      BETWEEN      YELLOW      FEVER, 
AND    TYPHUS     MITIOR,    OR    COMMON    SHIP    FEVER. 


I 


.N  my  last  number,  I  controverted,  at 
some  length,  the  opinion,  which  derives  our 
yellow  fever  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  and 
intimated  my  belief,  that  it  is  the  same  with 
the  endemic  of  the  West  Indies,  and  the  com- 
mon autumnal  fever  of  our  own  country. 

This   belief    is    founded  principally  on 
the  numerous  and  striking  analogies,  existing 


[     209     ] 

between   these     diseases,    of  which    I    beg 
leave   to   offer  the  following    statement : 

I.  The  common  bilious,  and  the  yellow 
fever  (I  should  have  said  states  or  modifi* 
cations  of  fever)  of  our  country,  appear  and 
disappear,  at  the  same  seasons  of  the  year. 

The  customary  period  of  their  preva- 
lence, in  temperate  climates,  is,  from  the 
middle  or  last  of  July,  till  the  commence- 
ment of  cold  weather.  Sometimes,  owing 
to  the  warmth  of  the  spring  co-operating 
with  other  causes,  they  appear  as  early 
as  the  middle  or  beginning  of  June. 

The  progress  of  these  forms  of  disease, 
after  they  have  spread  to  a  certain  extent,  is 
but  little  affected  by  rain,  unless  accompanied 
or  succeeded  by  Cool  weather.  It  is  most 
certainly  and  effectually  checked  by  the 
occurrence  of  frost.  In  climates  bordering 
on  the  line,  they  prevail  indiscriminately  at  all 
seasons. 

II.  They  appear  only  in  situations  of 
the  same  description,  being  confined  exclu- 
sively to  such  as  abound,  more  or  less,  in- 
putrid  exhalations. 

F  f 


c  210  ] 

The  principal  of  these  are>  low  rAZt&hf 
places,  large  cities,  and  camps,  where  clean- 
liness is  not  duly  enforced.  Mountainous 
and  elevated  countries  are,  to  speak  compara- 
tively, but  seldom  and  partially  afflicted  by 
the  above  calamities. 

III.  The  bilious  and  the  yellow  states 
of  fever  select  their  subjects,  for  the  most 
part,  from  among  persons  of  the  same  descrip- 
tion. 

In  this  country,  they  attack  Europeans 
and  their  descendants,  rather  than  negroes, 
or  people  of  colour.  They  attack  men 
radier  than  women^  and  adults  rather  than 
children. 

Otf  adults,  the  plethoric  and  robust  are 
more  subject  to  them  than  the  weak  and  de- 
licate ;  the  inhabitants  of  high  and  healthy 
situations,  who  visit  marshy  countries,  or 
large  cities,  only  occasionally,  than  those  who 
reside  constantly  in  these  places. 

The  natives  oi  tropical  countries,  who 
have  never  resided  in  high  latitudes,  are,  in 
a  great  measure,  exempt  from  the  dominion 
of  these  maladies. 


C    2ix    ] 

The  dissipated  and  the  habitually  intem- 
perate, are  their  most  frequent  subjects,  and 
their  most  certain  victims. 

IV.  They  are  ushered  in,  in  the  same 
manner,  they  exhibit,  during  their  course, 
symptoms  differing  only  in  degree,  and 
commit  their  principal  ravages  on  the  same 
organs  and  parts  of  the  body. 

Both  the  common  bilious  and  the  yellow 
states  of  fever  may  be  considered  as  seated 
primarily  in  the  stomach  and  abdominal 
viscera,  while  the  other  parts  of  the  system 
suffer  only  by  sympathy.  As  it  would  seem 
almost  impossible  for  the  poison,  which  gives 
origin  to  these  diseases,  to  have  immediate 
access  to  the  brain,  lumber  regions,  or  limbs, 
the  pain  experienced,  in  these  parts,  is  pro- 
bably not  idiopathic. 

V.  They  oftentimes  give  rise  to  the 
same  forms  of  chronic  disease. 

Jaundice  and  dropsy  are  the  frequent 
consequences  of  illy  cured  remittent  and 
yellow  fevers.  Perhaps,  jaundice  was  never 
so  common,  in  this  city,  as  in  the  the  winter 
and  spring,  immediately  subsequent  to  the 
yellow  fever  of  ninety  three.     But  the  fre» 


C     212     ] 

quent  occurrence  of  this  hepatic  disease,  in 
places  subject,  from  their  situation,  to  com- 
mon bilious  fever,  is  a  circumstance  of  which 
no  practitioner  of  medicine  can  be  ignorant. 

VI.  These  states  of  fever  may  be 
reciprocally  converted  into  each  other. 

Thus,  by  proper  treatment,  a  genuine 
yellow  fever  may  be  reduced  to  a  remittent, 
while,  by  improper,  the  latter  may  be 
changed  into  the  former  state  of  disease, 
accompanied  by  the  most  highly  aggravated 
symptoms. 

Our  late  epidemics,  particularly,  when 
on  the  decline,  assumed,  in  many  instances, 
something  of  the  form  and  character  of  remit- 
tents, 

VII.  The  common  bilious  and  yellow 
states  of  fever  are  alike  destitute  of  the  power 
of  contagion. 

When  patients  labouring  under  them, 
and  even  exhibiting  symptoms  of  the  highest 
malignity,  are  removed  to  a  distance  from  a 
contaminated  atmosphere,  they  are  uniformly 
nursed  and  attended  with  impunity.  I  have 
ftqver  known  one  instance,   where  either  of 


[     213     ] 

the  forms  of  disease,  in  question,  lias  been 
unequivocally  communicated  from  the  sick 
to  the  well,  in  the  pure  air  of  the  country, 

However  active,  therefore,  the  poison 
producing  these  maladies  may  be,  and  how- 
ever great  the  derangement  it  creates  in  the 
human  system,  yet,  when  it  has  taken  effect, 
it  appears  to  be  entirely  lost,  and  that  without 
issue,  having  no  power  to  perpetuate  itself. 

VIII.  The  progress  of  both  these  forms 
of  disease  has  been,  at  times,  arrested  by  a 
continuance  of  very  dry  and  warm  weather. 

In  such  instances,  like  vegetables  trans- 
planted to  a  barren  soil,  they  have  died  for 
want  of  proper  nourishment.  By  being  ex- 
hausted of  moisture,  in  consequence  of  the 
heat  and  dryness  of  the  weather,  the  sources 
of  putrefaction  have  failed  to  supply  them 
with  the  food  of  noxious  exhalations. 

No  objection  against  this  can  be  derived 
from  the  continuance  of  our  epidemic,  in 
ninety  three,  notwithstanding  a  drought  of 
nearly  three  months  duration.  Our  sources 
of  putrefaction  did  not,  at  that  time,  depend 
immediately  on  the  clouds  for  a  supply  of 
moisture.     The  quantity  of  water  absolutely 


[      214     ] 

necessary  in  the   economy  of  our  city,    was 
amply  sufficient  to  continue  the  process. 

In  the  surrounding  country,  many  mar- 
shy tracts,  by  being  completely  exhausted  of 
their  surperfluous  moisture,  enjoyed,  during 
that  season,  an  exemption  from  the  prevalence 
of  their  common  autumnal  endemic. 

IX.  These  states  of  fever  frequently 
prevail  in  the  same  place,  at  the  same  time, 
and,  therefore,  under  the  same  constitution 
of  atmosphere. 

In  the  maritime  parts,  and  other  low 
lands  of  the  southern  states,  while  a  great 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  are  attacked, 
in  autumn,  by  the  endemic  of  the  country, 
the  disease,  in  many  instances,  assumes  the 
malignity  of  true  yellow  fever,  carrying  off 
its  victims  on  the  third  or  fifth  day.  This 
melancholy  result  happens,  most  commonly, 
to  the  inhabitants  of  more  healthy  places, 
who  have  visited  the  flat  country  during  the 
sickly  season. 

The  co-temporary  occurence  of  two 
diseases,  or  forms  of  disease,  in  the  same 
place,  during  a  time  of  health,  is  no  evidence 
of  their  identity  or  kindred  nature.    There 


C     215     ] 

prevails,  at  such  a  time,  no  common  and 
general  cause,  to  give  existence  to  a  com- 
mon disease.  The  complaints  of  such  a 
period  must  be,  in  a  great  measure,  the  off- 
spring of  accident.  And,  as  the  very  essence 
of  accident  is  variety,  so  must  it  be  of  acciden- 
tal diseases. 

But,  the  case  is  different,  during  the 
prevalence  of  a  morbid  and  powerful  consti- 
tution of  atmosphere.  Such  a  constitution 
is  known  to  banish  or  suffocate  every  disease, 
except  that  which  it  is  peculiarly  calculated 
to  produce.  During  its  continuance  no  essen- 
tial variety  exists  among  acute  febrile  dis- 
eases, 

This  is  the  case  with  what  I  shall 
denominate  the  endemic  or  autumnal  consti- 
tution of  atmosphere,  which  prevails,  annual- 
ly, in  a  higher  or  lower  degree,  in  the  mari- 
time parts  of  the  southern  states. 

This  constitution  is  no  sooner  completely 
formed,  than  catarrhs,  pneumonies,  rheuma- 
tisms, and  all  other  acute  diseases,  are  su- 
spended, while  its  peculiar  offspring  and  nurse- 
ling, the  bilious  endemic,  becomes  in  a  great 
measure  the  monarch  of  the  place, 


C     216      ] 

Were  the  common  bilious  and  the  yellow 
fever  two  diseases  radically  different,  as  well 
might  we  expect  them  to  occur  in  the  system 
of  the  same  patient,  at  the  same  time,  as  to 
appear,  at  once,  in  the  same  place,  and  under 
the  same  constitution  of  atmosphere.  Their 
co-temporary  occurrence,  therefore,  under  the 
above  circumstances,  bespeaks  'them  to  be 
nothing  else  than  modifications  of  the  same 
complaint. 

X.  The  last  point  of  analogy  between 
the  bilious  and  yellow  states  of  fever,  which 
I  shall  mention,  is,  that  the  same  mode  of 
practice,  urged  with  different  degrees  of 
energy,  and  to  different  degrees  of  extent, 
is  found  to  be  alike  efficacious  in  their 
cure. 

This  leads  me,  not  unnaturally,  to 
offer  a  few  remarks,  relative  to  the  treatment 
of  yellow  fever.  Under  this  head  I  shall  be 
very  brief,  as  it  is  not  my  intention  to  enter 
into  the  detail  of  practice,  but  only  to  touch 
on  general  principles. 

Yellow  fever,  though  not  in  every  in- 
stance, a  disease  of  excessive  action,  appears 
to  be  always  produced  and  continued  by  an 
excess  of  stimulus.  Hence,  in  its  early  stages, 


C     217      ] 

the  mode  of  treatment  consists  in  the  use  of 
sedative  or  evacuant  remedies. 

The  only  exception  to  this  rule,  is,  when 
the  cause  of  the  disease  has  existed  in  such 
concentration  and  force,  or  the  body  been  in 
such  a  state  of  preparation  for  its  action,  that 
the  powers  of  life  have  been  paralysed,  by 
the  first  impressions,  and  the  system  imme- 
diately sunk  below  the  depleting  point. 

In  instances  like  this,  the  practitioner 
must  administer  sedative  remedies  with  a 
cautious  hand.  Yet  even  here,  intestinal 
evacuations  are  allowable  and  necessary.  In 
some  cases  of  original  and  great  prostration, 
venesection,  to  the  amount  of  three  or  four 
ounces  at  a  time,  and  frequently  repeated, 
has,  by  relieving  the  system  from  an  op- 
pressive load  of  stimuli,  allowed  its  action  to 
rise,  and,  in  this  way,  contributed  to  the 
restoration  of  health.  But,  in  other  cases  of 
?:  similar  nature,  the  same  mode  of  practice 
has  not  only  failed  of  success,  but  apparently 
precipitated  the  dissolution  of  the  patients. 

In  yellow  fever,  as  in  all  other  febrile 
diseases,  the  morbid  excitement  is  both  gene- 
ral and  local.  It  is  general,  as  diffused  through- 

G  g 


I     218     ] 

out  the  whole  vascular  system ;  it  is  local,  as 
determined,  more  particularly,  to  the  sto- 
mach and  other  abdominal  viscera.  The 
pain  in  the  head,  though  frequently  excru- 
ciating, appears,  as  already  observed,  to  be 
only  sympathetic,  and  the  affection  of  the 
brain  but  seldom  amounts  to  actual  inflamma- 
tion. 

In  the  stomach  a  degree  of  morbid 
excitement  running  on  to  inflammation  occurs, 
which  may  perhaps  be  considered  as  the 
radix  of  the  disease.  It  appears  to  be  the 
first  link  in  the  chain  of  phenomena,  which 
constitute,  collectively,  the  malady  in  ques- 
tion. The  other  links  most  probably  grow 
out  of  this,  on  the  all-pervading  principles  of 
sympathy. 

That  the  stomach  is  actually  inflamed, 
in  every  severe  attack  of  yellow  fever,  is  a 
truth  which  no  longer  admits  of  a  doubt. 
To  the  physician  of  experience  and  discern- 
ment, it  is  evidenced,  no  less  unequivocally, 
by  the  nature  of  the  symptoms  which  uni- 
formly occur,  than  by  the  demonstrative  dis- 
coveries resulting  from  dissection. 

This  affection  of  the  stomach,  frequent- 
ly runs  so  high,  as  to  terminate  in  gangrene, 


[     219     ] 

or  death,  from  excessive  action.  Hence,  a 
vitiated  secretion  from  the  internal  surface  of 
that  organ  in  its  moribund  state,  appears  to 
constitute  the  matter  of  "black  vomit." 

Somewhat  analogous  to  this  discharge 
from  the  stomach,  are  the  grumous  hemorr- 
hagic s,  that  oftentimes  occur,  about  the  same 
period,  from  different  parts  of  the  body. 
They  bespeak  a  tendency  to  dissolution  in 
the  parts  or  organs  from  which  they  issue. 

Corresponding  to  the  symptoms  they 
are  intended  to  combat,  the  remedies  for 
yellow  fever  must  be  both  general  and  local. 

The  general  remedies  are,  rest,  silence, 
a  recumbent  posture,  cool  air,  or  affusions  of 
cold  water,   sudorifics,  and  blood  letting. 

These  exert  an  immediate  influence  in 
reducing  the  action  of  the  system,  at  large. 
They  are  peculiarly  calculated,  to  meet  and 
counteract  what  I  have  already  denominated 
the  general  excitement. 

The  local  remedies  are  cathartics,  enemas, 
cool  drinks,  and  whatever  has  a  tendency  to  di- 
minish immediately  the  excessive  action  in  the 
blood-vessels  of  the  stomach  and  its  appendages 


[      220     ] 

Though  these  exert  also  an  influence  on  the 
general  excitement,  they  do  it  only  through 
the  medium  of  sympathy.  They  affect,  in 
the  first  instance,  the  stomach  and  intestines, 
while  these  organs,  by  their  extensive  range 
of  sympathy,  produce  similar  effects  on  the 
other  parts  of  the  body. 

These  local  remedies  act  probably 
through  the  same  medium,  by  which  the  poi- 
son of  yellow  fever  makes  its  way  into  the 
system.  This  pestilential  gas  enters  the 
mouth,  by  respiration,  is  arrested  by  the 
saliva,  food,  or  drink,  and  conveyed  into  the 
stomach,  from  whence,  as  from  a  centre,  it 
diffuses  its  malignity  through  all  the  frame. 

Were  venesection,  in  the  stomach,  a 
practicable  operation,  I  have  no  doubt,  but  ki 
certain  cases  of  yellow  fever,  and  subsequent- 
ly to  the  reduction  of  general  excitement,  a 
small  quantity  of  blood,  drawn  immediately 
from  that  organ,  would  prove  an  invaluable 
remedy.  It  would  act  like  scarification  of  the 
turgid  vessels  of  the  eye,  in  opthalmia,  or, 
like  cupping,  in  cases  of  local  inflamma- 
tion. 

The  reader  will  perceive,  that  the  above 
remedies  are,  with  regard  to  their  mode  of 


[      221      ] 

operation,   partly  negative,    and  partly   posi« 
tive. 


The  negative  are,  rest,  silence,  and  a 
recumbent  posture. 

These  produce  their  effects  by  their 
prevention  of  the  stimulus  of  sound  and 
muscular  motion,  in  the  same  manner  as 
darkness  operates  as  a  sedative,  by  the  exclu- 
sion of  light. 

The  positive  remedies  belong  exclusive- 
ly to  the  class  of  evacuants. 

To  this,  cool  air,  cold  affusion,  and  cool 
drinks,  constitute  no  exception.  By  carrying 
off  the  fluid  of  heat,  from  those  parts  of  the 
system,  with  which  they  come  in  contact, 
they  prove  evacuants  no  less  genuine,  than 
cathartics  or  blood-letting. 


A  free  admission  of  cool  air,  and  ageneral 
affusion  of  cold  water,  evacuate  heat  from  the 
whole  surface  of  the  body,  while  cool  drink 
performs  the  same  office  to  the  prima?  vise, 
particularly  to  the  stomach, 


[      222     ] 

Cold,  therefore,  in  whatever  manner 
applied,  may  be  denominated,  in  medical 
nomenclature,  the   evacuant  of  heat. 

Sudorific  remedies  possess  the  power 
of  a  twofold  operation,  and,  therefore,  when 
judiciously  administered,  appear  to  be  pro- 
ductive of  a  twofold  advantage. 

Besides  their  operation  as  evacuants, 
in  carrying  off  perspirable  effluvia,  in  combi- 
nation with  an  abundance  of  the  matter  of 
heat,  they  alter  the  general  drift  or  determi- 
nation of  the  morbid  action.  They  change  a 
centripetal  into  what  may  be  denominated  a 
centrifugal  disease.  They  transfer  excessive 
excitement  from  organs  that  are  more,  to  such 
as  are  less,  essential  to  life.  By  opening  the 
pores  of  the  skin,  exciting  action  in  them,  and 
rendering  them  outlets  for  constant  and  in- 
numinerable  currents  of  stimulating  fluids, 
they  operate  on  an  inflamed  stomach,  like 
setons  in  the  cure  of  troublesome  ulcers, 

Such  is  the  first,  or  what  may  be  termed 
the  sedative  class  of  remedies,  usually  em- 
ployed in  the  treatment  of  yellow  fever.  They 
are  indicated  in  that  stage  of  the  disease,  where 
excessive  action  constitutes  the  predominant 
feature. 


[     223      ] 

The  second  class  shall  be  briefly  spoken 
of  under  the  denomination  of  alterants  or 
equalizers. 

The  aid  of  these  is  generally  required, 
after  the  febrile  symptoms  have  been  suffi- 
ciently moderated  by  the  operation  of  the  first. 
Their  effect  is,  to  equalize  excitement,  to 
remove  the  occasional  paralysis  or  torpidity  of 
certain  organs,  and  to  prevent  any  part  of 
the  system  from  being  debilitated  or  destroyed 
by  excessive  action. 

The  reader  will  perceive,  that  the  princi- 
pal object  in  the  use  of  these  remedies,  (as 
has  been  already  observed,  with  respect  to 
one  of  the  effects  of  sudorifics)  is,  to  transfer 
morbid  action  from  organs  that  are  more,  to 
such  as  are  less,  essential  to  the  economy  of 
life.  Being  always  applied  at  a  distance  from 
the  part  they  are  intended  to  relieve,  they 
operate  entirely  through  the  medium  of  sym- 
pathy. 

The  principal  remedies  in  this  class, 
are,  the  hot  and  the  cold  bath,  sometimes  alter- 
nated with  each  other,  sinapisms,  blisters,  and 
mercury,  pushed  to  the  extent  of  salivation. 
The  operation  of  cupping  has,    though  not 


I     224     ] 

perhaps  with  strict  propriety,  been  arranged 
by  some  under  the  same  head. 


For  the  purpose  of  exciting  action  on 
the  surface  of  the  body  generally,  and  in  this 
way  relieving  deep  seated  affections  on  prin« 
ciples  of  sympathy,  both  the  hot  and  the 
cold  bath  has  been  repeatedly  used  with  the 
happiest  effects. 

The  application  of  blisters  and  sinapisms, 
is  a  point,  in  which  practitioners  of  medicine 
have  an  opportunity  for  the  display  of  no 
small  degree  of  judgment. 


These  remedies,  not  extending,  like  the* 
warm  bath,  over  the  whole  system,  but,  being 
confined  to  particular  parts  of  it,  will  be  applied 
to  no  purpose,  unless  such  parts  be  selected 
with  skill. 


To  render  blisters  and  other  external 
applications  effectual  in  the  removal  of  local 
disease,  they  must  not  be  laid  indiscriminately 
on  any  part  of  the  body,  but,  on  such  places 
only,  as  sympathize  actively  with  the  parts  to 
be  relieved. 


[     225     3 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  these  seats  of 
sympathy  would  furnish  one  of  the  best  secu- 
rities for  the  success  of  our  practice. 

Thus,  in  affections  of  the  stomach,  it  is, 
in  a  great  measure,  useless  to  apply  blisters 
to  the  shoulders  or  thighs,  while  much  bene- 
fit results  from  their  application  to  the 
epigastric  region  or  wrists.  In  like  manner, 
by  blistering  the  ancles  or  neck,  we  often- 
times relieve  affections  of  the  head,  whereas, 
in  such  cases,  no  benefit  would  be  derived 
from  similar  applications  to  the  abdomen  or 
breast. 

To  discover  and  make  known  the  numer- 
ous and  diversified  points  of  sympathy  of  the 
human  system,  should  constitute  a  primary 
object  with  teachers  of  medicine.  The  above 
are  refered  to,  not  as  any  thing  new,  nor 
as  a  statement  of  all  the  sympathies  at 
present  known,  but  only  in  illustration  of  a 
principle  of  practice. 

Mercury,  when  urged,  in  febrile  cases, 
to  the  point  of  salivation,  appears,  in  like 
manner,  to  produce  its  salutary  effects  by 
means  of  sympathy.  It  transfers  morbid  ex- 
citement from   the  brain,  stomach,  liver,  &c. 

H  h 


t      226     ] 

to  the  *ilivary  glands  and  parts  adjacent.  It 
even  appears  to  possess  a  power  of  exten- 
ding and  strengthening  the  bond  of  sympa- 
thy, and  thus  connecting  the  different  parts 
of  the  human  system  more  firmly  together, 
by  this  nice  and  inexplicable  tie. 

During  what  may  be  denominated  the 
salivary  or  mercurial  state  of  action,  certain 
parts  of  the  body  seem  to  sympathize  with 
each  other,  which  have  no  evident  connec- 
tion, on  this  principle,  in  a  state  of  health. 

Such  are  the  leading  remedies  that  have 
been  found  most  efficacious,  in  the  treatment 
of  yellow  fever,  and,  such  appear  to  be  their 
principles  and  modes  of  operation.  The 
reader  need  not  be  informed,  for  his  own 
penetration  will  discover  it,  that  they  are  cal* 
culated  to  answer  two  general  indications, 
namely,  the  reduction  of  excessive  action,  and 
the  equalization  of  the  excitement  of  the  sys- 
tem. In  other  words,  they  possess  the 
power  of  reducing  general  fever,  and,  of 
transfering  morbid  excitement  from  such 
organs  and  parts  as  are  more,  to  such  as  are 
less  essential  to  life. 

Respecting  the    treatment  of  patients, 
n  a  state  of  convalscence,  I  shall  say  no- 


[      227      ] 

thing,  as  diet  and  exercise,  rather  than  medi* 
cine,  are  to  be  relied  on  here. 

To  those  who  wish  for  fuller  informa- 
tion on  the  whole  subject,  I  beg  leave  to 
recommend  the  perusal  of  several  late  publi- 
cations, by  the  physicians  of  New- York, 
Philadelphia,  and  the  West-Indies,  but, 
particularly  of  the  three  last  volumes  of 
"  Medical  Enquiries  and  Observations,"  by 
Dr.   Rush, 

It  yet  remains  that  I  should  notice  one 
argument  more,  which  has  been  occasionally 
urged  against  the  doctrine  of  the  domestic 
origin  of  yellow  fever. 

By  persons  of  illiberal  and  uninformed 
minds,  it  has  been  alleged,  that  this  doc- 
trine is  altogether  new,  and  such  supposed 
novelty  has  been  construed  into  an  objection 
against  its  authenticity. 

In  reply  to  this,  I  beg  leave  to  remark, 
that  the  charge  of  novelty,  even  when  just, 
constitutes  no  solid  argument  against  the 
truth  of  an  opinion.  Perpetual  innovations 
on  long  established  doctrines  in  physics,  are 
the  necessary  result  of  the  progress  of  science, 
Discovery  and  novelty  are,  in  a  certain  re* 


[    228    ] 

spect,  synonomous  terms  ;  for,  every  dis- 
covery must  be  new  to  those,  to  whom 
it  was  before  unknown.  To  decry  and 
attempt  to  check  enterprize  and  innovation 
in  science,  is  to  meditate  destruction  to  the 
spirit  of  improvement. 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented,  that  the  anti- 
quity of  opinions  is  too  frequently  made  the 
standard  of  their  truth  and  respectability,  as, 
in  vulgar  estimation,  the  wisdom  of  an  indivi- 
dual is  apportioned  to  the  number  of  his 
grey  hairs.  Young  men,  and  new  opinions, 
have  to  encounter  alike  the  prejudices  and 
distrust  of  the  weak  and  illiberal.  They 
are  duly  respected,  only  by  those  few  minds, 
that  are  sufficiently  enlightened  to  appreciate 
their  intrinsic  worth, 

But,  the  opinion  that  yellow  fever  is  a 
disease  of  domestic  origin,  is  not  justly  sub- 
ject to  the  charge  of  novelty.  It  is  perhaps 
no  less  reverend  from  age,  than  that 
which  derives  it  from  the  West-Indies.  It 
can  be  traced  back,  with  certainty,  to  the 
year  1746,  at  which  time  this  disease  pre- 
vailed in  the  city  of  New- York.  The  Re- 
verend Dr.  Dickinson,  an  enlightened  cler- 
gyman, and  a  respectable  physician,  of  Eli- 
zabeth  Town    (New-Jersey),    in  an  address 


[      229      ] 

published  in  the  "  New- York  Weekly  Post- 
Boy,"  a  public  print  of  that  period,  declared 
to  the  citizens,  during  their  calamity,  that 
the  pestilence  which  afflicted  them  was  neither 
an  immediate  scourge  from  the  hand  of  Dei- 
ty, nor  yet  an  evil  imported  from  a  distant 
country,  but  the  offspring  of  their  own  do- 
mestic filth, 

A  similar  sentiment  was  entertained  by 
the  late  Dr.  Bond,  of  this  place,  respecting 
the  yellow  fever,  which  prevailed  here  in  the 
year  sixty  two.  The  doctor's  opinion,  on 
this  subject,  is  stated  in  a  lecture,  delivered 
by  him,  in  the  Pennsylvania  hospital,  and 
preserved,  in  manuscript,  among  the  records 
of  that  institution.  With  an  enlightened 
boldness  and  liberality  that  do  honour  to  his 
memory,  he  there  declared  the  filth  of  our 
city  to  be  competent  to  the  production  of  the 
above  disease. 

I  shall  close  the  present  memoir  by  a 
few  remarks  relative  to  the  difference  between 
yellow  fever  and  the  typhus  mitior  of  Dr. 
Cullen,  better  known  perhaps  by  the  names 
of  jail,  hospital,   and  ship  fever. 

I  am  led  to  this  by  an  opinion,  adopted 
by  some  of  the  adyocates  of  importation,  M  that 


[      230      ] 

our  late  epidemics  were  nothing  more  than 
the  common  ship  fever,  under  a  highly  malig- 
nant form."  They  even  say,  that  the  same 
disease,  only  inferior  in  degree,  has  been 
often  introduced  into  this  country,  in  crouded 
passenger-vessels,  from  Ireland)  Hamburgh, 
and  other  parts  of  Europe, 

That  yellow  fever  may  originate  on 
board  a  foul  vessel,  from  any  port,  and  in 
any  latitude,  is  certainly  true  ;  and  in  grant- 
ing this,  the  advocates  of  importation  fur- 
nish an  argument  readily  convertible  against 
themselves.  No  testimony,  however,  can  be 
collected  from  hence,  that  this  complaint  is 
the  same  with  typhus  mitior. 

The  opinion  of  the  identity  of  these  two 
diseases,  appears  to  be  satisfactorily  refuted 
by  the  following  considerations  : 

1.  Typhus  mitior  is  acknowledged,  by 
every  one,  to  be  unequivocally   contagious. 

Yellow  fever  is  declared,  by  the  most 
experienced  and  enlightened  physicians,  to  be 
destitute  of  contagion, 

2.  Typhus  mitior  is  a  disease  of  temper- 
ate and  cold  climates,  and  prevails  indiscrimi? 


[     231      ] 

iiately  at  all  seasons,  but  commits  its  greatest 
ravages  during  the  winter.  Regions  bordering 
on  the  Line  appear  to  be  altogether  inimical  to 
its  existence. 

Yellow  fever  is  a  perennial  disease  of 
tropical  climates  only.  It  originates  and 
prevails,  however,  occasionally  in  all  coun- 
tries, but,  in  temperate  and  high  latitudes, 
rages  as  an  epidemic,  only  during  the  warmth 
of  summer  and  autumn.  It  is  arrested  by 
the  cold  of  winter  no  less  effectually  than  the 
putrefaction  of  animal  and  vegetable  substan- 
ces. 

3.  Those  persons  most  subject  to  typhus 
mitior  are,  the  weakly  and  such  as  suffer 
from  a  deficiency  of  nourishment.  From 
some  observations  on  the  subject,  women 
appear  more  liable  to  it  than  men.  I  do 
not  know  that  it  makes  any  discrimination  in 
favour  of  blacks  or  people  of  colour. 

Yellow  fever  attacks,  more  particularly, 
the  healthy,  plethoric,  and  well  fed  part  of 
the  community.  Women  are  known  to  be 
less  subject  to  it  than  men.  Against  Africans 
and  their  descendants,  it  appears  to  possess, 
comparatively  speaking,  but  little  enmity.    In 


[      232     ] 

favour  of  people  of  colour  it   makes,  in  like 
manner,   a  marked  discrimination. 

4.  Typhus  mitior  seldom,  (I  believe 
never,)  spreads,  as  an  epidemic,  through 
whole  cities,  or  tracts  of  country,  banishing 
all  other  diseases,  or  imperiously  forcing  them 
to  assume  its  symptoms.  Depending,  for  its 
propagation,  on  contagion  alone,  it  is  too 
feeble  to  assume  such  an  ascendency  in  the 
atmosphere. 

But,  the  reverse  of  this  is  known  to 
constitute  a  very  striking  trait  in  the  character 
of  yellow  fever. 

5.  Typhus  mitior,  in  its  attack,  is 
generally  gradual  and  slow,  as  if  intending 
to  destroy  the  system  by  sap. 

Yellow  fever  is  mostly  rapid  and 
impetuous,  in  its  onset,  determined  to  carry 
every  thing  by  a  coup  de  main. 

The  former  disease  often  continues  from 
four  to  nine  weeks,  whiLe  the  latter  is  limit- 
ted  to  as  many  days. 

The  former  originates  only  in  situations 
illy  ventilated,   and  too   much    thronged   by 


[      233      ] 

human  inhabitants.  But  the  latter,  though 
rendered  more  malignant  by  such  situations, 
may  originate,  at  least  in  sporadic  cases, 
wherever  the  atmosphere  is  impregnated 
with  putrid  exhalations.  The  one  appears 
to  be  the  result  of  a  poison  formed  by  a  vitia- 
ted animal  secretion,  the  other  of  a  much 
more  powerful  one,  produced  by  the  process 
of  putrefaction. 

6.  From  its  commencement,  typhus 
mitior  is  marked  with  great  prostration  and 
languor  of  the  moving  powers  of  the  system. 
It  does  not  admit  of  free  evacuations,  but 
calls  for  the  use  of  cordials  and  stimulants. 

With  regard  to  yellow  fever,  the  case 
is  different.  In  its  first  stages,  the  commo- 
tion of  the  system  is,  for  the  most  part,  ex- 
cessive, copious  evacuations  are  indispensi- 
ble,  and  stimulant  remedies  inevitably  de* 
structive. 

7.  Yellow  fever  is  characterized  by 
certain  degrees  of  remission,  which  serve  to 
confirm  its  identity  with  common  bilious 
fever,  while  typhus  mitior  gives  no  hour  of 
respite  throughout  its  whole  course, 

li 


[      234      ] 

8.  From  dissection  we  learn,  that  typhus 
mitior  and  yellow  fever  qccupy  different  seats 
in  the  system. 


The  former  appears  to  commit  its  chief 
topical  ravages  on  the  brain,  while  the  latter 
is  more  particularly  the  vulture  of  the  ab- 
dominal viscera. 

Such  are  a  -few,  though  perhaps  not 
the  whole  of  the  points,  in  which  typhus 
mitior  and  yellow  fever  differ  from  each 
other. 

As  I  write  this  part  of  my  memoir  in 
haste,  it  is  even  probable,  that  I  may  have 
omitted  some,  more  important  than  those  I 
have  mentioned. 

I  fiatter  myself,  however,  that  the  facts, 
here  stated,  are  sufficient  to  convince  every 
candid  enquirer,  that  there  exists  a  radical 
difference  between  the  two  diseases  in 
question, 

I  am  unwilling  to  conclude  this  lengthy 
memoir,  without  declaring,  that  as  truth  and 
not  victory  is  my  object  in  writing  it,  I  will 


C      235      j 

rejoice  no  less  sincerely,  at  the  refutation 
of  its  errors  (for  who  can  boast  an  exemption 
from  error  ?)  than  at  the  general  prevalence 
of  the  principles   which  it  advocates. 


I     236     J 


MEMOIR  III. 


ON  THE  WINTER  RETREAT  OF  SWALLOWS. 

A.  HE  winter  destination  of  swallows 
(hirundines  purpurea,  rustics,  &c.)  though 
of  little,  perhaps,  no  practical  importance, 
is  a  subject  interesting  to  the  naturalist  and 
philosopher.  It  has  attracted  the  notice  of 
both  hemispheres,  and  of  all  countries.  It 
has  long  engaged  the  attention,  and  employed 
the  pens,  of  characters  grown  old  in  the 
study  of  nature,  whole  names  will  be  immor- 
tal as  the  science  which  they  cultivated. 
What  has  given  scope  to  the  talents  of  a 
Ray,  a  Willoughby,  a  Catesby,  an  Adanson, 
a  Buffon,  a  Linnaeus,  a  Kalm,  a  Pennant, 
and  a  Hunter,  without  being  exhausted, 
must  still  claim  a  respectable  place,  as  an 
object  of  research,  with  more  modern  natura- 
lists. 

It  is  to  be  lamented  that  the  elucidation 
which  this    subject  has    received,  is,   by  no 


C     237     J 

Means,  in  proportion,  either  to  its  antiquity 
as  an  object  of  enquiry,  or  to  the  number 
and  eminence  of  the  characters,  who  have 
taken  part  in  its  discussion. 

Judging  from  these  latter  circumstan- 
ces, we  would  be-  led  to  class  it  with  the 
most  luminous  points  in  natural  history ; 
v/hereas,  so  far  is  this  from  being  the  case, 
that  it  may,  perhaps,  be  ranked  among  the 
most   dark  and  undecided. 

I  have  not  the  vanity  to  suppose  my- 
self qualified  to  unloose,  at  once,  as  by  a 
touch  of  magic  influence,  all  the  intricacies 
of  this  gordian  knot  of  science,  which  has- 
so  long  withstood  the  united  efforts  of  the 
philosophers  of  Europe  and  America.  Be- 
lieving, however,  as  I  do,  that  the  point  in 
question  is  capable  of  receiving  additional 
illustration,  I  have  ventured  to  make  it  the 
subject  of  the  following  memoir. 

As  I  do  not  aim  at  the  character  of 
much  originality,  I  shall  proceed  in  what 
I  may  conceive  to  be  the  most  natural  order 
of  enquiry,  without  discriminating  particu- 
larly between  the  arguments,  that  are  my 
own,  and  those  for  which  I  am  indebted  to 
the  writings  of  others.     My  best  apology  to 


[     238      ] 

the  reader  for  this,  is,  an  unwillingness  to 
trouble  him  with  what  to  myself  is  irksome 
and  disagreeable,  I  mean,  a  repeated  refer- 
ence to  authorities. 

To  those  who  have  made  philosophical 
ornithology  their  study,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
remark,  that  three  different  opinions  have 
been  advanced,  and  defended,  by  naturalists, 
relative  to  the  winter  retreat  of  swallows. 
They  are, 

I.  That  these  birds  migrate  from  high 
latitudes,  and  pass  their  winters  in  warm 
climates,  where  they  can  readily  procure 
appropriate  food,  and  where  the  temperature 
is  congenial  to  their  delicacy  of  constitution. 

II.  That  they  do  not  migrate  to  a  dis- 
tant climate  at  all,  but  retire  to  rocks,  caverns, 
hollow  trees,  and  other  places  of  security, 
and  there  spend  their  winters  in  a  state  of  tor- 
pidity. 

III.  That  they  retreat,  about  the  close 
of  summer,  not  to  any  dry  land  abodes,  but 
to  the  bottoms  of  rivers,  lakes,  and  arms  of 
the  sea,  where,  embedded  in  mud,  they 
remain  torpid,  till  awakened  to  life  by  the 
return  of  spring. 


[     239      ] 

Each  of  these  opinions,  however  con- 
tradictory they  may  be,  has  been  occasionally 
defended  by  philosophers  of  equal  talents,  ac- 
quirements, and  fame. 

The  last  has  been  supported,  more 
particularly,  by  the  naturalists  of  Sweden, 
and  the  two  first,  by  those  of  Britain,  France, 
and  America. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  concealed, 
that  some  late  writers,  in  this  country,  have 
advocated  the  hypothesis  of  the  watery  hyber- 
nation of  swallows. 

On  the  second  opinion,  I  mean  that 
which  places  the  winter  habitation  of  swallows, 
in  rocks,  caverns,  and  hollow  trees,  I  shall 
bestow  but  little  attention.  As  it  does  not 
appear  to  be  opposed  to  any  general  law  of 
animated  nature,  it  carries  with  it  no  physical 
or  intrinsic  improbability,  sufficient  to  render 
it  altogether  incredible.  Many  warm  blooded 
animals  are  known  to  pass  the  winter,  in  a 
state  of  hybernation,  and  it  is,  therefore, 
possible  that  the  swallow  may  be  of  this  num- 
ber. 

I  am  willing  to  admit,  with  Dr.  Barton, 
(to  whose  lectures  and  writings  I  am  much 


[     240     ] 

indebted  for  what  knowledge  I  possess  on 
subjects  of  natural  history)  "  that  swallows 
have  occasionally  been  found  in  the  hollows 
of  decayed  trees,  in  different  parts  of  our 
country,  during  that  very  season,  when  it  is 
suppossed  these  birds  are  in  a  more  southern 
climate."  But,  with  that  enlightened  natura- 
list, I  must  also  believe,  that  these  are  to  be 
considered  as  "  extraordinary  instances,  which 
very  rarely  occur,"  and  not  as  facts  illustra- 
tive of  the  common  history  of  these  animals. 

I  am  persuaded  that  the  entrance  of 
swallows  into  the  above  places  of  retirement, 
is  altogether  accidental,  and  that  none  have 
ever  been  found  there,  except  either  such 
as,,  through  indisposition  or  weakness,  have 
been  unable  to  accompany  their  fellows  in 
their  autumnal  migration,  or,  as  have  been 
arrested  by  cold  weather,  in  consequence  of 
a  rn*e  mature  return  to  northern  regions,  in  the 
spring. 

Under  such  circumstances,  these  un- 
fortunate birds  have  been  obliged  to  betake 
themselves  to  the  best  shelter  they  could  find, 
from  the  inclemencies  of  the  season. 

Were  it  a  general  fact,  that  all  the 
Swallows  of  our  country   hybernate  in  sucji 


C      241      ] 

situations,  it  is  impossible  that  they  should 
not  be  found,  more  frequently,  and  in  much 
greater  numbers,  than  the  advocates  of  this 
hypothesis  presume  to  be  the  case. 

But,  it  is  the  first  and  third  of  the 
preceding  opinions,  that  claim  my  attention 
in  the  present  memoir.  Before  entering, 
however,  on  the  immediate  consideration  of 
them,  I  beg  leave  to  offer  a  few  remarks,  in 
reply  to  a  sentiment  o,f  Professor  Kalm,  one 
of  the  most  able  and  decided  advocates  for 
the   winter   submersion  of  swallows. 

"  Natural  history,"  says  the  professor, 
"  as  all  other  histories,  depends  not  always 
upon  the  intrinsic  degree  of  probability,  but 
upon  facts  founded  on  the  testimony  of  peo- 
ple of  noted  veracity." 

This  is  certainly  true,  when  the  facts 
related  are  of  a  common  cast,  and  neither 
opposed  to,  nor  above,  any  of  the  well  known 
laws  of  nature.  But,  when  such  opposition 
or  superiority  exists,  they  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  common  testimony.  In  such  a  state 
of  things,  the  evidence  necessary  for  their 
support,  must  be  such  as  would,  in  any 
case,  be  sufficient  for   the  establishment  of 

K  k 


[      242      ] 

a  belief  in  miracles.  For,  a  miracle  is 
nothing  else  than  an  event,  either  contra- 
ry or  paramount  to  the  established  laws  of 
nature. 

Earth  and  air  are  the  natural  elements 
of  man.  A  watery  abode  is  known  to  be 
incompatible  with  the  terms  of  his  existence ; 
for,  when  he  ceases  to  respire,  he  ceases  to 
live. 

The  same  is  the  case  with  all  truly- 
warm  blooded  animals,  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge.  Submersion,- continued  even 
for  a  short  space  of  time,  proves  no  less 
certainly  destructive  to  them,  than  the  most 
deadly  poison. 

It  may  be  laid  down,  then,  as  a  general 
law  of  nature,  that  a  submarine  habitation,  is 
incompatible  with  the  life  of  warm  blooded 
animals. 

If,  notwithstanding  this,  a  few  voya- 
gers, or  travellers,  even  of  unimpeached 
veracity,  should  give  an  account  of  a  newly 
discovered  country  or  island,  the  inhabitants 
of  which  are  accustomed  to  pass  five  months 
of  the  year  on  land,  in  the  full  display  of 
all  their  faculties,  and  the  other  seven  in,  a 


[      24S      ] 

state  of  torpidity,  at  the  bottoms  of  their 
lakes  and  rivers,  what  reception  would  such 
a  story  meet  with  from  an  enlightened  public  ? 
Would  any  weight  of  human  testimony  be 
sufficient  to  give  it  respectability,  and  an 
accredited  circulation  ?  Would  not  its  own 
intrinsic  improbability,  resulting  from  its 
opposition  to  a  law  of  nature,  be  sufficient  to 
stamp  it  as  the  offspring  of  deception,  or  as  a 
monster  of  Lble  ? 

In  such  a  case,  the  physical  improba- 
bility of  the  story  might,  without  the  least 
departure  from  the  spirit  of  philosophy,  be 
urged  as  an  argument  subversive  of  the 
weight  of  any  common  testimony  brought 
forward  in  its  support. 

These  general  remarks  amount  so 
nearly  to  self-evident  principles,  that  no 
farther  reasoning  is  necessary  for  their  esta- 
blishment. Their  application  to  the  present 
subject,  will  appear  in  subsequent  parts  of 
this  memoir. 

At  the  present  time  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  remark,  that  I  mean  to  controvert 
the  hypothesis  of  the  winter  submersion  of 
swallows,  rather  by  endeavouring  to  expose 
hs   improbability,    than   by  advancing  facts 


[      244      ] 

in  direct  opposition.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  strong  probability  of  the  migration  of 
these  birds,  shall  be  made  the  principal 
foundation  for  a  belief  in  that  doctrine. 

In  the  farther  consideration  of  this 
subject,  the  following  order  shall  be  ob- 
served : 

1.  I  shall  take  a  brief  view  of  the 
testimony  in  favour  of  the  submersion  of 
swallows,  advanced  by  the  advocates  of  that 
hypothesis.     And, 

2.  Adduce  such  arguments,  as  appear 
to  militate  against  this  opinion,  and  to 
favour  a  belief  in  their  migration  to  a  distant 
climate. 

Those  who  have  ventured  to  give 
positive  testimony  in  favour  of  the  winter 
submersion  of  swallows,  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes, 

The  first  assert,  that    they   have  seen 
these  birds  descending  into  the  water,  in  the 
autumn ;  the    second,  that,  in  the    depth   of 
winter,     they  have  seen  them  brought  from- 
the  bottoms  of  lakes,  or  rivers,    in  a  torpid 


[     245      ] 

state,  and  recalled  to  life  by  the  application 
of  heat. 

Of  the  former  class,  the  most  distin- 
guished is  Dr.  Wallerius,  a  Swedish  chemist, 
who  informs  us,  "  that  he  has  seen,  more 
than  once,  swallows  assembling  on  a  reed, 
till  they  were  all  immersed,  and  went  to  the 
bottom,"  meaning  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  or 
river,  where  the  reed  grew. 

The  credibility  of  this  assertion  is  much 
impaired,  if  not  wholly  destroyed,  by  the 
following:  considerations  : 


Ao 


A  reed,  being  a  tubular  plant,  and 
containing  in  its  cavity  a  quantity  of  air,  is 
specifically  lighter  than  water.  It  will  not, 
therefore,  sink  in  this  fluid,  unless  forced 
downwards   by  a  considerable  weight. 

But,  the  same  thing  is  true,  with 
regard  to  swallows.  These  birds,  possessing 
a  great  extent  of  plumage,  in  proportion  to 
their  size,  will  not  sink  in  water,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  specific  levity. 

How  then  is  it  possible,  that  two  sub- 
stances, each  specifically  lighter  than  water, 
can  sink  together  to  the  bottom  of  a  river  or 


£     246     ] 

lake,  without  some  additional  force  to  urge 
them  downwards  ?  As  well  might  we  expect 
heat  to  result  from  the  joint  operation  of  ice 
and  snow,  or  darkness  to  follow  the  combined 
action  of  two  luminous  bodies,  as  the  above 
event  to  take  place  under  the  above  circum- 
stances. 

The  only  other  eye-witness  I  shall  men- 
tion of  the  decent  of  swallows  into  the  water, 
is,  a  certain  Peter  Cole,  author  of  a  late  article 
in  the  Medical  Repository  of  New-York.  (See 
Medical  Repository,  Vol  II.  page  178). 

"  As  I  was  standing,"  says  this  gentle- 
man," at  my  door,  between  the  hours  of  five  and 
six  in  the  morning,  I  observed  a  very  large 
flock  of  swallows,  flying  in  an  easterly  direc- 
tion. I  immediately  repaired  to  the  pond,  (*  ) 
where  there  was  already  a  vast  number  col- 
lected in  the  reeds  and  rushes.  They  con- 
tinued coming  for  nearly  the  space  of  half  an 
hour,  and  vast  numbers  of  them  were  flying 
over  the  water,  in  almost  every  direction. 
Some  of  these  birds  appeared  to  run  on  the 
surface   of  the  water,    with   great    rapidity, 


(14)  A  P^n(-  of  fresh  water,  adjoining  a  marsh  in   the 
vicinity  of  the  city  <  "ork. 


[     241     ] 

towards  the  east  corner  of  the  pond,  and,  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  disappeared  under 
the  water,  and  rose  no  more." 

Though  I  am  far  from  doubting  Mr.  Cole's 
veracity  'as  a  man,  he  must  suffer  me,  in  the 
present  instance,  to  call  in  question  his 
accuracy  as  a  philosopner. 

It  appears  from  his  account  of  the  above 
phenomenon,  that  he  made  use  of  a  "  spy- 
glass" in  attending  to  the  motions  and  actions 
of  the  swallows.  This  he  surely  would  never 
have  done,  had  not  these  birds  been  too  remote 
from  him,  to  have  their  conduct  examined 
with  the  naked  eye.  From  the  face  of  his 
narrative,  therefore,  we  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve, that  he  was  considerably  distant  from 
them  when  he  made  his  observations. 

But,  every  one  acquainted  with  the  use 
of  small  optical  tubes,  must  be  sensible  of 
the  extreme  difficulty,  not  to  say  the  imprac- 
ticability, of  keeping  an  object,  no  larger 
than  a  swallow,  and  moving,  "  with  great 
rapidity,"  in  the  proper  field  of  vision.  The 
slightest  motion  of  the  glass,  or  the  least 
deviation  of  the  bird  from  a  right-lined  direc- 
tion; would  make  the  animal  disappear,  as 


[      243      ] 

suddenly  and   certainly,  as  if  it  had  plunged 
to  the  bottom  of  the  pond. 

This  circumstance,  therefore,  indepen- 
dently of  the  inherent  improbability  of  the  fact, 
renders  the  story  of  Mr.  Cole  extremely 
equivocal.  It  is  further  evident  from  his 
own  account,  that  his  mind,  from  early  im- 
pressions, was  predisposed  to  a  belief,  in  the 
submersion  of  swallows.  It  would,  perhaps, 
be  thought  uncandid  in  me  to  say,  how  far 
this  might  have  influenced  him  in  the  present 
instance.  It  is  a  truth,  however,  for  men- 
tioning which  I  can  incur  no  censure,  that  a 
strong  predilection  for  an  opinion  is  unfavour- 
able to  accuracy  of  observation  respecting  the 
subjectofit.  The  fallacious  nature  of  a  system- 
building  spirit  is  already  proverbial. 

Indeed,  our  author's  whole  narrative 
appears  much  more  like  the  loose  story  of  a 
man  relating  a  common  event,  as  it  appeared 
to  the  eye  of  common  observation,  than  like 
the  accurate  statement  of  a  philosopher, 
drawn  up  after  a  faithful  examination  of  his 
subject. 

As  the  place  of  the  supposed  descent  of 
the  swallows,  appears  to  have  been  near  to 
the   "  east    corner  of  the    pond,"   is     it   not 


[      249      ] 

probable,  that  instead  of  actually  immergmg 
beneath  the  water,  they  alighted,  either  on  the 
shore  itself,  or  on  some  of  the  reeds  or 
rushes  which  grew  about  its   borders  ? 

Thf.se  birds,  when  flying  near  to  the 
surface  of  water,  are  seen  frequently,  either 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  driak,  of  washing 
themselves,  or  in  pursuit  of  insects,  to  strike 
against  the  water,  and  immediately  rise  again 
and  pursue  their  course.  Might  not  occur- 
rences of  this  kind,  have  readily  deceived 
Mr.  Cole,  especially  as  he  trusted  the  accu- 
racy of  his  observations  to  a  "  spy-glass  ?" 

In  one  respect,  at  least,  our  author's 
investigation  of  his  subject,  must  be  acknow- 
ledged, even  by  himself,  to  be  extremely  im- 
perfect. 

As  he  seems  to  have  been  sensible  of 
the  particular  place  where  the  swallows  de- 
scended into  the  water,  why  did  he  not  pro- 
ceed to  make  search  for  them,  in  the  bottom 
of  that  part  of  the  pond  ?  Had  he  done  this, 
and  succeeded  in  discovering  them,  the  truth 
of  his  narrative  would  have  been  rendered  in- 
controvertible. He  would  then  have  had  the 
honour  of  finally  deciding  a  point  cf  contro- 
ls! 


[     250     ] 

versy,  which  had  hitherto  set  bounds  to  the? 
researches  of  philosophers. 

But,  till  Mr.  Cole's  observations  shall 
have  been  conducted  in  a  more  accurate  and 
satisfactory  manner,  his  testimony  can  never 
be  admitted  as  decisive.  On  the  other  hand, 
its  weight  must  be  considered  as  more  than 
counterbalanced,  by  the  improbability  of  the  ^ 
event  which  it  is  intended  to  establish. 

Among  the  stories  of  all  those,  who 
profess  to  have  been  eye-witnesses  of  the 
resuscitation  of  swallows,  from  a  state  of 
submersion,  that  related  by  Professor  Kalm, 
appears  to  be  the  only  one  worthy  of  atten- 
tion. 

u  In  January,"  says  this  gentleman, 
"  the  lake  of  Lybshaw,  (a  lake  in  Polish 
Prussia)  being  covered  with  ice,  I  ordered 
the  fishermen  to  fish  therein,  and,  in  my 
presence,  several  swallows  were  taken,  which 
the  fishermen  threw  in  again ;  but,  one  I 
took  up  to  myself,  brought  it  home,  which 
was  five  miles  from  thence,  and  it  revived, 
but  died  about  an  hour  after  its  reviving." 

I  feel  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  speak  of 
this  narrative  exactly  as  it  deserves.  While, 


[     251     ] 

from  the  character  of  its  author,  it  would 
seem  to  possess  a  claim  to  our  respect  and 
belief,  its  want  of  internal  probability  is  so 
glaring,  that  it  appears  better  calculated  to 
mingle  with  the  stories  of  romance,  than  to 
occupy  a  place  in  a  work  devoted  to  sci- 
ence (l*).'    ' 


(15)  If  a  swallow  were  first  rendered  so  torpid,  by  the 
action  of  cold,  as  to  have  its  respiration  completely  suspended, 
and  then  submersed  in  water,  or  placed  under  the  mud  of  the 
bottom  of  a  river,  there  is  little  doubt  but  it  might  remain 
there  for  a  considerable  time,  and  be  afterwards  resuscitated  by 
the  proper  application  of  heat. 

Tpik  same  thing  is  perhaps  true  with  respect  to  every 
ether  animal  capable  of  being  reduced  to  a  state  of  torpidity. 
For,  after  an  animal  is  completely  torpid,  I  think  it  probable, 
that  it  may  be  preserved  in  water  nearly  as  well  as  in  air. 

Supposing  Professor  Kalm  to  have  been  accurate,  in  his 
statement  of  the  fact  already  mentioned,  this  must  have  been 
the  case  with  the  swallow,  which  he  saw  reanimated,  after 
having  been  taken  from  under  the  ice.  It  must  have  been  over- 
taken by  the  water  when  already  in  a  torpid  state. 

I  do  not,  therefore,  contend  against  the'  possibility  of  a 
few  swallows  having,  in  consequence  of  proper  treatment, 
revived,  after  bavin?;  lain,  by  accident,  for  days,  weeks,  or 
even  months,  under  water.  I  only  argue  against  the  generality 
of  the  fact,  by  endeavouring  to  shew,  that  this  is  not  the  com- 
mon destination  of  these  birds.  And  I  farther  contendj  against 
the  possibility  of  such  swallows  having  placed  themselves  in. 
that  situation,  by  their  own  Voluntary  act.  They  must  have 
been  first  rendered  torpid,  and  then  placed  there  by  the  hand 
of  accident.  Nor  could  they  ever,  by  their  own  exertions, 
have,  extricated  themselves  from  such  a  situation.  Without; 
assistance  from  some  quarter,  the  sleep  they  were  in  mus.? 
oeen  the  sleep  of  death. 


[      252      ] 

That  a  swallow  which  has  lain  some 
time  torpid,  in  a  dry  situation,  may  be  reani- 
mated, is  a  circumstance  that  does  not  surpass 
belief;  because,  (independently  of  the  fact 
itself  being  well  ascertained)  the  animal  king- 
dom furnishes  many  analogies,  which  render 
such  an  occurrence  probable. 


But,  the  resuscitation  of  one  of  these 
birds,  after  having  been  first  drowned,  and 
then  macerated,  for  several  months,  in  water 
covered  with  ice,  is  an  event  so  wholly  unsup- 
ported, either  by  principle  or  analogy,  that 
it  appears  impossible  for  the  unprejudiced 
mind  to  admit  it  as  a  fact.  Such  an  occur- 
rence would  be  no  less  truly  miraculous,  than 


We  frequently  meet  -with  extraordinary  facts,  of  animals 
being  found  torpid,  yet  capable  of  resuscitation,  in  the  ]. 
of  rocks  and  trees,  and  at  great  depths  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  where,  circumstances  would  induce  us  to  believe, 
they  had  continued  for  ages.  Nor  do  the  respectable  autho- 
rities, on  which  these  facts,  are  related,  allow  us  any  shadow 
pf  ground  to  suspect  their  truth. 

They  appear  to  be  explicable  only  on  the  same  principles, 
which  I  have  applied  to  the  explication  of  the  above  accidental 
phenomena,  relative  to  the  submersion  of  swallows. 

The  inclosed  animals,  in  question,  must  have  been  placed 
in  the  situations-,  where  they  were  found,  when  in  a  torpid 
state.  And,  being  in  that  state,  and  requiring  no  air  for  their 
subsistence,  such  situations  were  perhaps  as  compatible  as  any 
D^er,  with  their  retention  of  a  cert  lin  degree  of  vital  en 


[     253     ] 

the  resuscitation  of  the  human  body,  after  a 
similar  continuance  in  the  same  element. 

V 

I  now  proceed,  agreeably  to  the  order 
proposed,  to  a  more  particular  statement  of 
such  facts  and  arguments,  as,  while  they 
militate  against  the  opinion  of  the  submersion 
of  swallows,  favour  that  of  their  migration  to 
distant  climates. 

1.  My  first  argument,  under  this  head, 
is  derived  from  Dr.  Barton's  "  Fragments  of 
the  Natural  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  page 
16. 

"  My  friend,  William  Bartram,"  says  the 
doctor,  "  assures  me  that  he  has  seen,  m  the 
spring,  large  flocks  of  all  our  swallows,  upon 
their  passage  from  the  south,  and  in  autumn, 
on  their  return  southward,  from  Pennsylvania 
through  Carolina  to  Florida,  where,  however, 
neither  of  them  v*Tinter,  but  continue  farther  on 
southward."  "  I  cannot,"  continues  our  author, 
"  but  consider  the  testimony  of  this  gentle- 
man, in  matters  of  this  kind,  as  of  high 
value." 

This  is,' perhaps,  the  most  respectable 
and  conclusive  fact,  on  this  subject,  to  be 
found  in  any  writer  on  the  natural  history  of 


C     254     ] 

the  swallow.  It,  alone,  falls  but  little  short  of  a 
full  refutation  of  those,  already  mentioned, 
reUtive  to  the  winter  submersion  of  this 
bird. 

Many  similar  facts  may  be  collected 
from  the  journals  of  navigators,  and  the 
writings  of  naturalists. 

We  are  informed,  by  Mr.  Adanson, 
that,  on  the  sixth  of  October,  about  fifty 
leagues  from  the  coast  of  Senegal,  four 
swallows  settled  on  the  ship,  in  which  he 
sailed.  These  birds  were  recognized,  by 
our  author,  as  the  swallow  of  Europe,  and 
appeared  to  him  to  be  on  their  passage  from 
that  continent  to  the  coast  of  Africa. 


Mr.  Kalm,  himself,  furnishs  us  with 
a  fact  no  less  in  point,  relative  to  the  settling 
of  a  swallow  on  a  vessel  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
nearly  midway  between  the  continents  of 
Europe  and  America. 

Under  this  article  I  shall  only  add  a 
brief  extract  from  a  memoir,  by  Sir  Charles 
Wager,  published  in  the  fifty-third  volume 
of  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society, 


[     255      ] 

'*  Returning  home,"  says  our  author, 
V  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  as  I  came  into 
soundings  in  our  channel,  (the  British  Chan- 
nel) a  great  flock  of  swallows  came  and  settled 
on  all  my  rigging:  every  rope  was  covered;  they 
hung  on  one  another  like  a  swarm  of  bees  ; 
the  decks  and  carving  were  filled  with  them. 
They  seemed  almost  famished  and  spent,  and 
were  only  feathers  and  bones ;  but,  being 
recruited  with  a  night's  rest,  took  flight  in  the 
morning." 

The  foregoing  facts,  though  they  do 
not  amount  to  what  can  strictly  be  called 
possitive  proof,  yet  very  strongly  favour  the 
opinion  of  the  migratory  movements  of  swal- 
lows. The  testimony  which  they  furnish, 
derives  strength  from  this  circumstance,  that 
the  above  mentioned  flights  of  these  birds, 
have  occurred  only  in  the  spring  and  autumn, 
the  proper  seasons  of  migration. 

2.  The  flight  of  swallows,  when  they 
have  been  observed  in  autumn,  have  been 
always  in  a  southerly,  and,  when  in  the 
spring,  in  a  northerly  direction. 

This  fact  rests  on  the  testimony  of  many 
respectable  naturalists,  and  favours  a  belief 


C     2S6     ] 

in  the  northerly  and   southerly  migration  of 
these  birds. 

3.  Swallows,  when  they  disappear  in 
the  autumn,  are  fat,  full,  and  vigorous  ;  but, 
when  they  appear  again  in  the  spring,  lean, 
empty,  and  languid. 

In  the  former  instance,  they  resemble 
birds  prepared  to  undergo,  and,  in  the  latter, 
those  that  have  already  undergone,  the 
fatigues  of  a  long  journey,  where  food  is 
not  easily  procured  by  the  way. 

Nothing  like  this  happens  to  other 
animals,  in  consequence  of  passing  through 
a  state  of  hybernation,  particularly  to  those 
that  remain  perfectly  torpid,  as  must  be  the 
case  with  swallows,  if  they  reside  under 
water. 

In  such  a  state,  there  can  be  no  more 
consumption  of  the  substance  of  the  body,  in 
consequence  of  vital  action,  than  would  occur 
in  a  piece  of  inanimate  matter ;  because,  all 
the  motions  of  life,  which  could  produce  such 
consumption,  are  completely  suspended. 
The  animal,  therefore,  must  emerge  in  the 
spring,    possessed  of  the  very    same    flesh 


£      157     ] 

which  it  carried  with  it  in  the  autumn,  to  its 
winter  retreat. 

4.  It  is  evident,  from  many  circumstan- 
ces, that  swallows,  like  other  birds,  moult, 
or  cast  their  feathers,  at  stated  periods. 

But  this  process  never  takes  place, 
during  the  summer  residence  of  these  birds 
in  northern  latitudes.  This  season  appears 
to  be  appropriated  exclusively  to  the  pleasures 
of  love,  and  to  the  care  of  their  offspring. 

They  must  moult,  therefore,  during 
their  absence  from  us,  in  winter.  But  this 
could  never  be  the  case,  did  they  lie  all  that 
time  in  a  state  of  torpidity,  at  the  bottoms  of 
our  lakes  and  rivers.  For,  the  business  of 
casting  an  old,  and  giving  birth  to  a  new 
crop  of  feathers,  is  no  less  the  result  of  vital 
action,  than  the  general  nourishment  and 
growth  of  the  body. 

5.  Insuperable  objections  ag?.inst  the 
hypothesis  of  the  submersion  of  swallows, 
arise  out  of  the  nature  of  the  situations,  in 
which  they  are  supposed  to  reside* 

M  m 


t      258     ] 

Not  to  mention  the  impracticability  of 
these  little  animals  descending  to  any  depth 
into  the  water,  in  consequence  of  their  speci- 
fic levity,  (a  circumstance  to  which  I  have 
already  adverted),  and  to  pass  unnoticed  the 
hazards  they  would  run  of  being  devoured 
by  rapacious  fish,  aquatic  quadrupeds,  water 
serpents,  8tc.  they  would  still  incur  many 
additional  dangers,  of  being  destroyed  by 
the  changes  the  banks  and  bottoms  of  rivers 
and  lakes  suffer,  in  consequence  of  the  action 
of  their  own  waters. 

By  the  autumnal  and  winter  rains,  and 
the  melting  of  snows  in  the  spring,  these 
bodies  of  water  are  subject  to  frequent  swells, 
and  occasionally  to  extensive  inundations. 
Hence,  their  shores,  and  the  mud  and  sand 
which  constitute  their  bottoms,  are  sometimes 
washed  promiscuously  away,  by  the  impe- 
tuosity of  their  currents,  and  at  other  times 
covered  with  vast  quantities  of  alluvial  matter, 
deposited  by  the  gradual  subsidence  of  their 
waters.  I  need  not  add,  that  either  of  these 
occurrences  would  prove  alike  destructive  to 
swallows  in  a  state  of  submersion. 

6.  In  high  latitudes  swallows  disappear 
as  early  as  the  latter  end  of  August,  while 
the  weather  is  yet  very  warm,  and,  sometimes 


C     259     ] 

after  long  severe  winters,  appear  again  in 
the  spring,  before  the  laiies  and  rivers  are 
clear  of  ice. 


How  will  the  advocates  of  submersion 
reconcile,  with  their  extraordinary  hypothesis, 
facts  which  speak  such  a  contradictory  lan- 
guage ? 

A  state  of  hybernation  in  animals,  is 
always  the  result  of  necessity,  not  of  choice. 
If,  then,  the  temperature  of  the  month  of 
August,  when  the\mean  heat  is  as  high  as 
75°,  renders  it  necessary  for  swallows  to 
take  shelter  from  it,  by  descending  to  the 
bottoms  of  lakes  and  rivers,  how  is  it  possi- 
ble that  these  same  birds,  can  ascend  again 
in  the  spring,  amid  sheets  of  floating  ice,  and 
through  water  but  little  above  the  freezing 
£oint  ? 

But  the  fact  is  otherwise.  Nature  ad- 
mits no  such  paradoxical  phenomenon  among 
her  works,  as  that  of  a  bird  becoming  torpid 
beneath  the  fervors  of  August,  to  be  recalled 
to  life  by  the  chills  of  April.  Animals  that 
are  known  to  hybernate,  never  go  into  that 
state  till  the  actual  commencement  of  cold 
weather, 


[      260     ] 

One  of  the  strongest  evidences  of  the 
fallacy  of  an  opinion,  is  the  incompatibility 
of  the  facts  with  which  it  is  connected.  But, 
such  incompatibility,  and  that  in  a  very  high 
degree,  must  be  encountered  by  the  advocates 
of  the  submersion  of  swallows. 

Even,  in  the  climate  of  Pennsylvania, 
if  we  take  one  of  these  birds,  on  its  first 
appearance  in  the  spring,  and  immerse  it  in 
one  of  our  lakes  or  rivers,  all  but  the  head, 
so  that  the  process  of  respiration  may  still 
go  forward,  it  will  become,  in  the  course  of 
a  few  hours,  so  torpid  as  to  be  unable  to 
fly,  or  to  make  any  effectual  efforts  to  extri- 
cate itself  from  the  surrounding  element.  If, 
in  this  situation,  it  be  abandoned  to  its  fate, 
it  will  immediately  perish,  by  the  well  known 
and  inevitable  action  of  water  on  warm  blood- 
ed animals. 

Here,  then,  the  advocates  of  submer- 
sion are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  either 
relinquishing  their  doctrine  altogether,  or 
admitting  the  absurd  proposition,  that  the 
very  same  temperature,  which  has  already 
roused  a  swallow  from  the  deepest  torpidity, 
may,  in  a  few  days  (I  might  have  said  a 
few  hours)  afterwards,  reduce  it  again,  from 
a  state  of  perfect  life  and  activity,  to  the  same 


[      261      ] 

death-like  condition.  But,  I  need  not  add, 
that  to  attribute  such  opposite  effects  to  the 
same  cause,  is  an  abuse  of  reason,  and  an 
outrage  on  the  spirit  of  sound  philosophy. 

7.  Sensible,  that,  in  common  times, 
swallows  are  as  liable  to  be  drowned  as  other 
warm  blooded  animals,  I  conceived,  that  in 
case  the  hypothesis  of  their  submersion  were 
true,  the  constitution  of  these  birds  must, 
at  the  period  of  their  disappearance  in  autumn, 
undergo  such  a  change,  as  to  render  their 
lives  indestructible  by  the  action  of  water. 

To  reduce  this  supposition  to  its  proper 
test,  the  following  experiment,  (which,  were 
it  not  my  own,  I  would  call  interesting)  was 
performed  in  the  presence  of  -my  invaluable 
friend,  the  late  Dr.   Cooper. 

In  the  close  of  the  summer  of  ninety  six, 
I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  become  possessed  of 
two  swallows,  (the  hirundo  rustica)  just  be- 
fore the  annual  disappearance  of  these  birds. 
I  kept  them  uninjured,  till  such  disappearance 
actually  took  place. 

Immediately  on  the  occurrence  of  this 
event,  the  above  gentleman  and  myself  lost 
no  time  in  repairing  to  the  Schuylkill,  where 


[     262     ] 

we  immersed  our  two  little  prisoners  in  the 
river,  with  weights  appended  sufficiently 
heavy  to  sink  them  to  the  bottom. 

That  our  experiment  might  be  rendered 
as  unexceptionable  as  possible,  the  weights 
were  fixed  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  draw 
one  of  the  swallows  down  headforemost, 
and  the  other  in  the  contrary  direction. 

"We  chose  a  part  of  the  river  of  such 
a  depth,  and  with  such  a  bottom,  that  the 
actions  of  our  birds  could  be  distinctly 
observed. 

These  little  animals  no  sooner  came 
in  contact  with  the  water,  than  they  mani- 
fested signs  of  great  alarm,  and  struggled 
with  their  wings,  as  if  desirous  to  escape 
from  the  embraces  of  an  element  that  was 
unnatural  to  them. 

When  immersed  to  the  bottom,  air 
began  to  escape  from  them,  partly  from  their 
lungs,  and,  in  p;:rt  perhaps  from  among  their 
feathers,  and  rose  to  the  surface  of  the 
water,  in  considerable  bubbles.  They  exhi- 
bited, for  a  short  time,  the  anxiety  and  con^ 
ynlsions  of  animals  in  a  drowning  state,  but, 


t      263      ] 

in  less  than  three  minutes,  became  perfectly 
motionless. 


Having  allowed  them  to  remain  under 
water  about  three  hours,  we  took  them  out, 
with  such  caution  as  to  prevent  them  from 
sustaining  any  violence,  and  made  use  of 
every  mean  we  could  devise,  to  restore  them 
to  life.  All  our  efforts,  however,  for  this 
purpose,  were  fruitless.  Our  birds  were 
reduced,  not  to  a  state  of  torpidity,  or  sus- 
pended animation,  but,  of  absolute  death. 
The  water  appeared  to  have  affected  tnem, 
in  all  respects,  as  it  would  have  done  other 
warm  blooded  animals,  if  subjected  an 
equal  length  of  time    to  its  action. 

Experiments,  similar  to  the  above, 
but  at  different  seasons  of  the  year,  have 
been  performed,  by  other  gentlemen,  with 
the  same  result. 

Have  we  not  ample  reason,  then  to 
conclude,  that  all  swallows  would,  in  similar 
situations,  and,  at  all  seasons,  share  precise- 
ly the  same  fate,  whether  immersed  in  wa- 
ter, by  their  own  act,  or  by  the  hand  of  an 
experimenter  ? 


[      264      ] 

8.  But,  should  wc  even  admit  the  prac- 
ticability of  swallows  descending,  without 
being  actually  drowned,  to  the  bottoms  of 
lakes  and  rivers,  of  their  becoming  torpid 
there,  and  remaining  unmolested  in  that 
condition,  throughout  the  winter,  how  could 
they  possibly  be  resuscitated  in  the  spring  ? 


It  is  well  known,  that  warm  blooded 
animals  can  pass  from  a  state  of  torpidity  to 
that  of  actual  life,  only  through  the  medium 
of  respiration.  When  about  to  revive,  res- 
piratory efforts  constitute  the  first  of  their 
voluntary  actions.  In  such  a  situation,  if 
air  be  excluded  from  them,  they  can  never 
regain  a  state  of  activity,  but  must  inevitably 
perish. 


Nor  do  swallows  form  an  exception  to 
this  general  rule.  These  birds  have  been 
frequently  rendered  torpid  by  means  of  cold, 
and  restored  to  life  again,  by  the  gradual 
application  of  heat.  During  this  process, 
their  dependence  on  air  for  a  recovery  has 
been  satisfactorily  illustrated.  Their  first 
voluntary  efforts  have  always  been  those  of 
the  respiratory  kind,  or  what  are  denominated, 
in   common  language,    gasping   for  breath. 


C      26S      3 

Nor  have  they  been  capable  of  any  consider- 
able degree  of  muscular  exertion,  till  respira- 
tion has  become  perfectly  free,  and  even. 
continued  for  some  time. 

But,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  add, 
that  it  is  impossible  for  these  birds  to  brea.the, 
when  submersed  to  the  bottom  of  a  lake  or 
river.  And,  it  is  equally  impossible  for 
them  to  acquire,  without  respiration,  strength 
sufficient,  either  to  shake  off  the  accumula- 
ted mud  of  a  whole  winter,  or  to  rise  beneath 
its  pressure  to  the  surface  of  the  water. 

Here,  then,  the  advocates  for  sub- 
sion  are  reduced  to  a  most  serious  and 
obstinate  dilemma. 

They  must  either  admit,  that  swallows 
ean  breathe,  at  the  bottoms  of  lakes  and 
rivers,  Ijhere  there  is  no  air,  or  that  they 
can  pass  from  torpidity  to  active  life,  without 
the  aid  of  this  vital  process. 

I  submit  the  matter,  thus  analysed,  to 
their  consideration,  convinced  that  it  presents 
them  with  nothing  but  a  choice  of  difficulties. 
Tor,  to  admit  either  branch  of  the  dilemma, 

N  n 


[      266      ] 

would    involve    them  in   error  too  gross   to 
mislead. 

9.  Swallows  are  not  birds  of  dark- 
ness, and,  therefore,  make  none  of  their 
movements  by  night. 

But,  were  their  descent  into  lakes  and 
rivers  a  general  fact,  and,  were  this  descent 
always  performed  in  open  day,  it  is  impossi- 
ble that  there  should  not  have  been  more 
spectators  of  the  phenomenon,  than  the 
advocates  of  submersion  are  able  to  ad- 
duce. 

Dr.  Wallerius,  of  Sweden,  and  Mr. 
Cole,  of  New- York,  (the  weaknesses  and 
improbabilities  of  whose  stories  have  been 
already  exposed)  are  the  only  characters,  I 
now  recollect,  who  have  publicly  declared 
themselves  to  have  been  eye-witnesses  of  the 
submersion  of  swallows. 

But,  the  number  of  persons  is  consi- 
derable, who  have  seen  flocks  of  these  birds 
on  their  passage,  in  the  autumn,  to  southern, 
and  in  the  spring,  to  northern  climates.  I 
have  already  mentioned  the  names  of  several 
naturalists,    who    have   been   spectators   of 


C      267      ] 

these  migratory   flights,   and  could,  were    it 
necessary,  add  many  more  to  the  catalogue. 

Notwithstanding  this,  I  know  it  has 
been  frequently  asked,  by  the  advocates  of 
submersion,  why,  if  swallows  are  migratory 
birds,  have  they  not  been  still  more  frequently 
seen  on  tneir  passage  from  one  climate  to 
another  ? 

There  are  several  circumstances,  which, 
when  jointly  considered,  furnish  a  satisfac- 
tory answer  to  this  question. 

Swallows  are  very  small,  they  soar  to 
a  great  height  in  the  atmosphere*  they  fly 
with  much  rapidity,  they  are  mostly  silent 
when  on  the  wing,  and  are  capable  of  perform- 
ing a  vast  journey,  without  halting  for  the 
purpose  of  rest  or  nourishment.  These  I 
conceive  to  be  the  principal,  perhaps  I  might 
have  said,  the  only  reasons,  why  the  birds, 
in  question,  are  less  frequently  observed, 
during  their  migrations,  than  the  heron,  the 
wild  goose,  or  the  storck. 

But,  were  the  hypothesis  of  submer- 
sion true,  no  such  weighty  considerations 
exist,  to  prevent  the  discovery  of  swallows, 
when  descending  into  the  water.      Were  th$ 


[     263     ] 

descent  conducted,  in  every  instance,  as  in 
that  described  by  our  countryman,  Mr.  Cole, 
tlie  phenomenon  must  be  annually  witnessed 
by  thousands, 

10.  In  the  construction  and  mechanism 
of  the  heart  and  large  blood  vessels  of  ani- 
mals, nature  has  drawn  lines  of  essential 
distinction  between  the  truly  aquatic,  the 
amphibious,  and  the  terrestrial. 

Judging  from  this  source,  swallows 
are  found,  on  examination,  to  be  no  less 
really  terrestrial  than  the  human  race.  This 
fact  alone,  must  convince  the  naturalist, 
that  they  are  calculated  for  an  exclusive 
residence  in  air. 

As  well,  therefore,  might  we  expect 
man,  himself,  to  descend,  without  drowning, 
to  the  bottoms  of  lakes  and  rivers,  to  remain 
there  throughout  the  winter,  in  a  torpid 
state,  and  to  emerge  again  to  life  on  the 
approach  of  spring. 

11.  Trough,  in  matters  of  science,  ana^ 
logy  is  not  a  ground  of  conclusive  evidence, 
yet,  when  it  coincides  with  facts,  it  is  not 
to  be  disregarded, 


£      269     } 

But  analogy  is  directly  opposed  to  the 
submersion  of  swallows. 

On  examining  the  habits  of  all  the 
terrestrial  animals,  that  pass  their  winters 
in  a  state  of  torpidity,  we  do  not  find  one 
that  forsakes  its  native  element,  in  making 
choice  of  a  hybernating  residence. 

Aquatic  animals  do  not,  on  this  occa- 
sion, seek  an  asylum  on  land,  nor  do  the 
truly  terrestrial  retreat  to  the  water.  Each 
one  chooses  to  reside,  during  its  torpid  state, 
in  that  element  which  is  most  congenial  to 
its  nature,  when  in  the  enjoyment  of  per-* 
feet  life. 

Why  then,  I  beg  leave  to  ask,  should 
swallows  alone  constitute  an  exception  to 
this  general  rule  ?  Why  should  these  birds, 
which  appear  to  be  among  the  most  perfectly 
terrestrial  (I  might  have  said  aerial)  of  all 
.animals,  choose,  without  the  shadow  of  neces- 
sity to  compel  them  to  the  choice,  a  watery 
residence  for  more  than  half  the  year  ? . 

12.  It  has  been  already  remarked,  that 
a  state  of  torpidity  in  animals,  is  always  the 
result  of  physical  necessity* 


t     270     ] 

None  hybernate  that  are  capable  of 
escaping  the  severities  of  winter,  by  -migra- 
ting from  a  northern  to  a  southern  climate. 
JMone  are  doomed  to  encounter,  annually,  this 
near  approach  to  death,  except  such  as  are 
disqualified  for  the  performance  of  long 
joumies. 


Of  this  description  are  several  of  the 
smaller  quadrupeds,  in  high  latitudes,  and 
a  great  proportion  of  the  class  of  reptiles. 


Exposed,  as  these  animals  are,  to 
numerous  enemies,  but  illy  qualified  for  a 
journey  over  land,  and  wholly  incapable  of 
making  the  passage  of  large  rivers,  they  are 
excluded  from  the  privilege  of  migrating  to 
southern  climates.  Possessed  of  constitutions 
unable  to  endure,  unprotected,  the  rigors  of 
their  native  winters,  the  are  obliged,  during 
that  season,  to  retreat  to  the  best  hybernacula 
their  own  inclement  regions  afford. 


But,  how  different  is  the  case,  with 
regard  to  birds  in  general,  and  particularly 
with  regard  to  swallows,  which  are  among 
the  most  active  of  the  feathered  race  ? 


C      271      ] 

No  unfitness  for  migration  confines  them 
to  a  particular  region,  no  necessity  interposes 
to  prevent  them  from  travelling  even  from 
the  Pole   to  the  Line. 

Such  is  the  swiftness  of  these  birds, 
and  such  their  power  of  wing,  that  they 
would  require  but  a  short  time  to  make  the 
entire  circuit  of  the  globe.  Neither  moun- 
tains, rivers,  nor  even  oceans  themselves, 
are  able  to  set  boundaries  to  their  course 
through  the  Heavens.  They  have  only  to 
will  it,  and  their  passage  from  climate  to 
climate,  is  but  little  more  than  an  excursion 
of  pleasure. 

From  the  facility  and  speed,  with  which 
the  feathered  race  in  general,  can  perform 
long  journies,  and  from  their  being  able  to 
find  appropriate  food  in  different  regions, 
there  are  but  few,  if  any  of  them,  doomed  to 
endure  a  state  of  hybernation.  More  favoured 
by  nature  than  certain  other  branches  of 
the  animal  kingdom,  they  appear  to  be 
exempt  from  the  horrors  of  this  semi-annual 
death. 

But,  if  such  be  the  situation  of  birds,  in 
general,  why  should  the  swallow  be  selected 
to  constitute  an  exception  ? 


t     272     ] 

Whether  we  take  into  view  its  capacity 
for  flying,  or  its  living  on  insects,  which 
are  known  to  abound  in  every  region  of 
the  earth,  it  certainly  deserves  to  be  ranked 
with  the  foremost  of  the  feathered  race,  with 
respect  to  qualifications  for  the  business  of 
migration. 

For  what  purpose  do  the  old  swallows 
exercise  themselves  so  sedulously,  and  with 
so  much  industry  and  apparent  solicitude, 
train  up  their  young,  in  the  art  of  flying) 
for  some  time  previously  to  taking  leave  of 
us  in  the  autumn  ? — To  what  end  is  all  this 
parade  of  preparation  directed  ? — Is  it  to  fit 
these  birds  for  a  state  of  torpidity,  during 
the  six  or  seven  succeeding  months,  or  to 
strengthen  them  for  a  journey  to  a  distant 
climate  ? — If,  for  the  latter  purpose,  nature,  in 
this  instance,  is  wise,  and  consistent  with 
herself;  but,  if  for  the  former,  she  appears 
to  deviate,  strangely,  from  that  wisdom  of 
design,  which  constitutes  such  a  prominent 
feature  in  her  economy. 

To  encounter  the  fatigues  of  a  long 
journey,  animals  should  be  strong,  active,  and 
inured  to  labour ;  but,  a  state  of  preparation 
for  a  lengthy  and  profound  sleep,  consists 
rather  in  slothfulness  and  debility. 


E     273      ] 

13.  When  swallows  disappear,  in 
autumn,  the  young  of  the  preceding  season 
can  be   readily   distinguished  from  the   oicL 

This,  however,  is  not  the  case,  on  their 
return  in  the  following  spring.  During  the 
absence  of  these  birds,  such  a  perfect 
sim.litude  takes  place,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  distinguish  the  parents  from  their 
offspring. 

But,  such  an  assimilation  could  by 
no  means  occur,  were  they  consigned,  du- 
ring the  winter,  to  a  state  of  torpidity.  In 
that  case,  no  vital  action  would  go  on  in 
their  systems,  to  produce  any  change  in 
their  general  appearance.  Each  swallow 
would  awake,  in  the  spring,  possessed  of 
the  same  colour,  length,  and  firmness  of 
feathers,  and  of  other  parts,  which  it  carried 
with  it,  in  the  autumn,   to  its  winter  retreat. 

14.  Nature  delights  in  the  life  and 
enjoyments  of  all  her  creatures.  Nor  does 
she  ever,  even  for  a  moment,  deprive  one 
of  them  of  the  pleasures  of  existence,  unless 
impelled  to  it  by  a  necessity  resulting  from 
the  principles  and  laws  of  their  being. 

O  o 


[      274      ] 

But,  a  state  of  torpidity  in  swallows, 
would,  during  its  continuance,  be  no  less 
incompatible  with  their  enjoyment  of  pleasure, 
than  actual  death. 

It  has  been  already  observed,  and  the 
observation  substantiated  by  facts,  that  i.^e 
nature  and  condition  of  these  birds  is  such, 
as  to  give  rise  to  no  shadow  of  necessity 
for  their  sinking,  at  any  time,  into  a  torpid 
state. 

Why,  then,  should  nature,  as  if  in 
sport  and  wantonness  in  her  treatment  of 
the  swallow  alone,  eminently  qualify  this 
bird  for  migrating  to,  and  subsisting  in, 
climates  the  most  remote  from  each  other, 
and  afterwards  deprive  it  of  the  pleasures 
and  advantages  which  might  result  from 
such  qualifications,  by  unnecessarily  rendering 
it  torpid,  and  obstructing  all  its  avenues  of 
enjoyment,  for  more  than  half  the  year  ? 

Such  tantalizing  inconsistency  is  incom- 
patible with  that  wisdom  of  arrangement, 
and  benignity  of  design,  so  conspicuously 
displayed  in  the  economy  of  the  universe  ! 

15.  The  last  argument  I  shall  urge  in 
favour  of  the  migration  of  swallows,  is  derived 


C     275     ] 

from  what  appears  to  be  the  principal  use  of 
these  birds,  in  the  economy  of  nature. 


I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  inconclusiveness 
of  this  mode  of  reasoning,  when  separately 
considered;  for  to  argue  from  final  causes 
alone,  (of  which  we  know  but  little)  is,  by 
no  means,  conformable  to  the  spirit  of  philo- 
sophy. But,  when  taken  in  conjunction  with 
other  arguments,  it  must  be  acknowledged  to 
add  something  to  the  general  weight  and 
respectability  of  testimony. 

As  far  as  we  are  able  to  carry  our 
researches  into  the  system  of  final  causes, 
the  principal  use  of  the  swallow  appears  to 
be,  to  feed  on,  and  destroy,  a  variety  of 
noxious  insects,  which  are  at  enmity  with 
man,  and  other  parts  of  nature,  and  would, 
if  proper  bounds  were  not  set  to  their  increase, 
become  a  most  formidable  and  wide  spreading 
evil. 


But,  such  insects  are  not  confined  to 
any  particular  tract  of  country,  nor  to  the 
summer  of  high  latitudes.  They  abound  in 
all  countries,  and  in  certain  regions,  during 
jail  seasons  of  the  year. 


I      276      ] 

At  all  seasons,  therefore,  as  well  during 
its  winter  absence  from  us,  as  during  its 
residence  with  us  in  summer,  may  "the 
swallow  be  engaged  in  contributing  to  the 
general  balance  of  nature. 

Why,  then,  snould  the  Deity,  who 
delights  no  less  in  the  utility,  than  in  the 
happiness  of  his  creatures,  deprive  us, 
without  any  obvious  reason,  of  more  than 
half  the  usefulness  of  this  bird,  by  burying 
it,  for  more  than  half  its  time,  in  a  state  of 
torpidity  ? 

I  shall  close  this  memoir,  by  expressing 
a  confidence,  that  no  splendour  of  talents, 
nor  authority  of  names,  will  ever  be  able  to 
give  permanency  to  a  belief  in  the  submersion 
of  swallows. 

When  the  history  and  science  of  nature 
shall  be  better  understood,  I  have  no  doubt 
but  this  extraordinary  hypothesis  will  be 
classed  with  the  story  of  the  phcenix,  which 
is  said  to  descend  from  the  ashes  of  its 
parent,  or,  with  the  fable  of  Proserpine, 
who,  after  her  marriage,  was  reported  to  be 
in  the  annual  habit  of  passing  six  months 
with  her  lover,  in  the  infernal,  and  six  with 
^ier  mother  in  the  celestial  regions  ? 


MEDICAL  &  PHYSICAL 

E    M    O    I    R    S, 


[     279      ] 
MEMOIR    IV. 


STRICTURES 

ON 

"    A    MEMOIR    CONCERNING    THE    DISEASE    OF 

GOITRE, 

AS    IT    PREVAILS     IN    DIFFERENT    PARTS    OF 

NORTH    AMERICA. 

ST     BENJAMIN     SMITH     BARTON,    H.   D«" 
&C.  ISfc.  'Cfc. 

J_T  is  not  my  intention  to  offer  any 
remarks,  either  on  the  historical,  or  therapeu- 
tic part  of  the   memoir  before   me. 

Were  I  to  analyse  and  examine  the 
former  of  these,  I  should  run  a  risque  of 
being  charged  with  a  spirit  of  flattery ;  for, 
my  analysis  would  be  but  little  else  than  an 
effusion  of  eulogy.  Respecting  this  part,  there- 
fore, I  shall  only  observe  in  general,  that 
it  exhibits  that  variety  of  matter  and  simplicity 
of   manner— that   richness   and  perspecuity 


£     280     ] 

which  characterize  most  of  the  writings  of 
its  author.  But,  its  chief  merit  consists  in 
its  embodying  more  information  respecting 
the  appearance  and  range  of  Goitre,  in  the  New 
World,  jhan  is  to  be'  found  in  any  other  publi- 
cation on  the  subject. 

My  strictures  shall  be  confined  to  that 
division  of  our  author's  third  section,  wnere 
he  offers  "  his  own  opinion  upon  the  cause 
of  Goitre.' * 

This  opinion  is  submitted  to  the  public* 
with  so  much  of  the  modesty  and  candour  of 
true  philosophy,  as  to  disarm  criticism  of 
all  its  severity,  and  almost  persuade  it  to 
relax  in  its  justice. 

In  the  beginning  of  that  part  of  hid 
memoir,  where  the  doctor  states  the  grounds 
of  his  opinion  relative  to  the  cause  of  Goitre, 
he  bestows  on  his  reasoning  (the  very  best, 
perhaps,  of  which  his  side  of  the  point  in 
question  will  admit)  nothing  but  the  humble 
name  of  conjecture.  Had  he  even  gone  no 
farther  than  this,  I  should  still  have  consi- 
dered a  reply  to  him  necessary ;  because* 
the  very  conjectures  of  men  distinguised  in 
science,  and  more  particularly  of -those,  who 


L"     2S1     ] 

act  as  public   teachers,  produce  an  affect  on 
subordinate  minds. 

But,  in  the  close  of  an  appendix  to  his 
memoir,  our  author  assumes  a  tone  of  more 
confidence  and  decision,  and  says,  u  Upon 
the  whole,  the  farther  I  proceed  in  this 
enquiry,  the  more  I  am  inclined  to  believe, 
that  the  principal  remote  cause  of  Goitre,  is 
a  miasm  of  the  same  species,  as  that  which 
produces  intermittent  and  remittent  fevers, 
dysenteries,  and  other  similar  complaints," 

The  plan  which  I  mean  to  pursue,  in 
the  present  memoir,  in  reply  to  Dr.  Barton, 
is, 

First,  to  enquire  into  the  nature  and 
force  of  the  evidence,  on  which  the  above 
belief  is  founded.     And, 

Secondly,  to  state  a  few  arguments, 
which  seem  to  militate  against  the  opinion, 
that  Goitre  and  bilious  fever  result  from  the 
same  cause. 

The  doctor's  first  reason,  in  support  of 
his  opinion,  is  expressed  in  the  following 
words  : 


[      232      ] 

-  "  As  glandular  affections,"  says  he,  "  of 
different  kinds,  are  not  unfrequent  in  coun- 
tries in  which  intermittent  fevers  prevail,  I 
was  early  led  to  conjecture,  that  the  Goitre 
might  be  occasioned  by  the  same  matter  or 
matters,  which  induce   these  fevers." 

To  this  I  would  reply,  that  if  we  except 
the  liver,  spleen,  and  mesenteric  glands,  (I 
allude,  more  particularly,  to  the  mesenteric 
glands  of  children)  glandular  affections  are 
not,  in  proportion  to  other  diseases,  more 
frequent  in  bilious  regions,  than  in  other 
places.  It  will  be  found  on  enquiry,  that, 
with  the  above  exception,  the  inhabitants  of 
our  maritime  flats,  in  the  United  States,  are 
no  more  subject  to  diseases  of  these  organs, 
than  those  who  reside  in  midland  or  mountain- 
ous tracts. 

Marsh  miasma  appears  to  possess  a 
peculiar  power  of  producing  disease  in  the 
stomach,  intestines,  and  abdominal  viscera, 
in  general.  Hence,  the  frequency  of  indura- 
ted spleens  and  livers,  and  of  bowel  com- 
plaints, in  marshy  countries. 

But,  I  believe  pathology  furnishes  no 
fact,  in  proof,  that  the  poisonous  exhalation, 
in  question,  has  ever  been    known  to  give 


[      233      ] 

origin  to  idiopathic  affections  of  the  glands,  in 
other  parts  of  the  body.  Next  to  the  abdominal 
viscera,  the  vascular  system  suffers  most 
from  its  deleterious  influence. 

This  argument  of  our  author  appears, 
therefore,  to  be  founded  in  error,  and  can 
furnish  no  shadow  of  support  to  his  hypothe- 
sis. 

The  doctor  proceeds  next  to  show,  by 
a  number  of  facts,  that  most  places,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  where  Goitre  prevails, 
are  also  subject  to  intermittent  and  remittent 
fever. 

This  position  is  undoubtedly  true;  but, 
it  is  no  less  true,  that  many  other  places  are 
still  more  subject  to  these  latter  diseases, 
where  the  former  has  never  possessed  an 
existence. 

Bilious  fever,  under  some  form,  may 
be  denominated,  not  improperly,  the  endemic 
of  the  earth.  There  appears  to  be  no  habit- 
able tract  of  country,  of  whatever  elevation, 
or  in  whatever  latitude,  where  this  disease 
may  not,  under  certain  circumstances,  origi- 
nate and  prevail.  Like  the  light  and  heat  of 
;ts  parent,  the  sun,  it  extends  its  dominion 


C      284      ] 

from  the  valley  to  the  mountain,  and  from  the 
Line  to  the  Pole. 

How  different  is  the  case  with  regard 
to  Goitre  ?  This  disease  is  so  circumscribed, 
in  its  extent,  that  when  compared  with  the 
other,  it  may  be  said  to  occupy  only  a  point 
on  the  surface  of  our  globe.  But,  in  diseases, 
as  in  other  things,  a  community  of  origin 
should  produce  something  like  a  community 
of  extent. 

If  we  consider  Goitre  as  derived  from 
the  same  origin  with  bilious  fever,  for  no  other 
reason,  but  because  it  exists  occasionally  in  the 
same  place,  we*  may,  with  equal  propriety, 
draw  a  similar  conclusion,  respecting  every 
other  description  of  complaint.  For  bilious 
fever  being,  as  already  observed,  a  common 
tenant  of  our  globe,  it  is  impossible  for  other 
diseases  to  find  out  a  single  spot,  of  wrhich 
it  is  not  already  an  occupant. 

In  relation  to  this  earth,  man,  like  bilious 
fever,  possesses  a  kind  of  ubiquity,  inhabit- 
ing occasionally  every  part  of  it,  from  the 
Line  to  the  Pole.  Elenhants,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  found  native  only  in  certain  districts 
of  the  Torrid  Zone,  where  man  also  resides. 
'VVhat  would  we  think  of  the  resoning  of  that 


C     235     ] 

naturalist,  who,  in  consequence  of  this  partial 
(I  might  have  said  accidental)  coincidence  of 
habitation,  would  venture  to  infer,  that  men 
and  elephants  are  descendants  from  a  common 
progenitor?  —  We  would  certainly  consider 
him,  either  as  visionary  almost  to  madness, 
cr  as  attempting  to  expose  and  weaken  his 
hypothesis  by  ridicule,  rather  than  to  support 
it  by  serious  argument. 


But,  such  evidence,  however  fanciful, 
respecting  the  common  origin  of  man  and  the 
elephant,  would  stand  on  precisely  the  same 
footing,  with  that  which  I  am  now  examining, 
relative  to  the  common  origin  of  Goitre  and 
bilious  fever. 


It  would  be  uncandid,  however,  to 
close  my  remarks  on  this  head,  without 
acknowledging  that  Dr.  Barton  appears  to 
have  considered  the  argument,  now  under  con- 
sideration, of  but  little  weight  in  the  defence 
of  his  opinion. 

Our  author's  next  reason,  for  believing 
in  the  common  origin  of  Goitre  and  bilious 
fever,  is  communicated  in  the  following 
words : 


[      286      ] 

"  The  complexion  of  many  goitrous 
persons,"  says  he,  "  especially  those  in 
whom  the  disease  has  arisen  to  a  considerable 
height,  is  an  additional  circumstance  in  favour 
of  the  opinion  which  I  have  advanced.  Their 
complexion,"  says  Dr.  Saussure,  speaking 
of  the  Cretins  "  is  a  yellow,  approaching  to 
brown,  from  which,  probably,  they  obtained 
the  name  of  Marons  (17)  which  is  given  to 
them  in  the  Valley  of  Aoste." 

From  the  simple  circumstance  of  the 
complexion  of  patients,  but  little  solid  infor- 
mation can  be  derived,  relative  to  the  origin 
of  the  diseases  which  afflict  them. 

All  permanent  constitutional  affections 
(phthisis  perhaps  alone  excepted)  have  a 
very  perceptible  influence  in  darkening  the 
skin.  But,  there  is  a  reason  why  this  effect 
should  be  more  particularly,  and  to  a  greater 
extent,  produced  in  those  "  in  whom  the 
disease  of  Goitre  has  arisen  to  a  considerable 
height." 

Cretins,     or    persons     affected     with 
a  high  degree  of  the  disease  in  question,   are 


(17)  "  The  juaron  is  a  large  kind  of  checnut." 


[      287      ] 

pretty  generally  subject  to  an  imbecillity  of 
mind,  approaching  to  idiotism.  In  conse* 
quence,  therefore,  of  that  inattention  to  dress, 
which  never  fails  to  accompany  this  unfortu- 
nate state,  they  are  exposed,  unprotected,  to 
the  influence  of  the  weather.  This  circum- 
stance, accompanied  by  a  neglect  of  cleanliness, 
(another  uniform  characteristic  of  idiotism) 
are  causes  sufficiently  powerful  to  produce 
the  Cretin  complexion,  independently  of  the 
operation  of  marsh  miasma. 

Further,  in  Cretins,  the  powers  of  life 
are  uncommonly  weak,  and,  therefore,  worse 
calculated  than  in  most  other  descriptions  of 
persons,  to  resist  the  influence  of  the  weather, 
and  of  other  causes,  that  have  a  tendency  to 
darken  the  complexion.  For,  the  more 
vigorous  and  healthy  the  human  system, 
the  farther  is  it  removed  from  the  condition 
of  inanimate  matter,  and  the  less  liable  to 
receive  and  retain  the  alterative  impressions 
of  external  agents. 

I  shall  only  add,  that  cretinism  prevails 
most  in  the  lower  walks  of  life,  where 
swarthiness  of  complexion  is  no  uncommon 
occurrence,  even  among  those  exempt  from 
disease. 


[     288      ] 

I  come  now  to  our  author's  last  argu* 
mcnt,  in  favour  of  the  common  origin  of 
Goitre  and  bilious  fever. 

"  I  was  informed,"  says  he,  "  that  in  the 
state  of  New-York,  those  persons  who  are 
affected  with  Goitre  are  commonly  exempt 
frum  intermittents,  though  in  the  midst  of 
persons  labouring  under  these  latter  com- 
plaints. If  this  be  a  fact,  it  would  rather 
serve  to  show,  that  the  Goitre  and  the  inter- 
mittent are   owing  to  the  same  cause." 

I  have  no  disposition  to  question  the 
truth  of  the  fact,  that  Guitre,  especially  in  an 
advanced  stage,  serves  as  a  shield  against 
rmittents.  In  this  respect,  however,  it 
stands  by  no  means  alone,  a  similar  effect 
being  produced  by  many  other  diseases.  But* 
that  power  which  it  possesses,  only  in  com- 
mon with  other  complaints,  can  furnish  no 
solid  testimony  relative  to  its  origin. 

Who  dees  not  know,  that  the  human 
system  is  often  preserved  from  bilious  fever, 
by  phthisis,  scrophula,  large  wens,  especially 
when  painful,  large  painful  bubos,  inveterate 
gleets,  and  psora  or  itch  ?  Yet,  who  will 
venture    to    infer    from    hence,     that    these 


[      2S9      ] 

complaints  result  from  the  operation  of  the 
effluvia  of  marshes  ? 

Finally,  is  not  the  circumstance  of 
Goitre  guarding  its  subjects  from  intermitting 
fever,  explicable  on  the  well  known  principle, 
that  two  general  morbid  actions  (for  Goitre, 
in  an  advanced  stage,  is  certainly  a  general 
disease)  cannot  exist  in  the  same  system  at 
the  same  time  ? 

As  well  might  we  expect  in  the  same 
patient,  a  co-existence  of  measles  and  small 
pox,  as  of  Goitre  and  any  form  of  bilious 
fever.  And,  as  well  might  we  expect  two 
particles  of  matter  to  occupy,  at  once,  the 
same  point  of  space,  as  two  distinct  kinds  of 
action  to  co-exist  in  the  same  parts  of  living 
matter. 

Having  endeavoured  briefly  to  show 
the  inconclusive  nature  of  Dr.  Barton's  rea- 
soning, relative  to  the  cause  of  Goitre,  I 
shall  pass  to  the  second  part  of  my  memoir, 
namely, 

To  state  a  few  arguments,  which  seem 
to   militate    against   the    opinion,    that    this 

Qq 


[     290     ] 

disease    possesses    a    common    origin    with 
bilious  fever. 

I.  To  whatever  quarter  of  the  globe 
we  direct  our  attention,  we  observe,  that  in 
those  tracts  of  country,  where  bilious  fever 
produces  its  greatest  ravages,  and  conse* 
quently  where  the  noxious  exhalation,  that 
gives  origin  to  it,  is  most  abundant,  Goitre 
has  never  possessed  an  existence. 

This  remark  is  forcibly  exemplified 
in  that  range  of  sea-coast,  which  extends 
from  the  Delaware  to  the  river  St.  Mary. 
Though  this  maritime  region  produces  more 
bilious  fever,  than  exists  in  all  other  parts  of 
the  United  States,  it  has  never,  I  believe, 
been  known  to  give  origin  to  a  case  of  Goitre. 

This  fact  (as  Dr.  Barton  has  himself 
had  the  penetration  to  discover,  and  the 
candour  to  acknowledge)  militates  much 
against  his  opinion  respecting  the  cause  of 
the  disease  in  question.  For,  if  Goitre  were 
the  descendant  of  marsh  miasma,  it  is  physi- 
cally impossible  that  no  cases  of  it  should 
ever  occur,  in  the  above  maritime  tract  of 
country,  where,  for  three  months  in  the  year, 
the  atmosphere  is  saturated  with  this  poison- 
ous exhalation. 


C      291      ] 

II.  Goitre,  though  not  exclusively  a. 
disease  of  the  female  sex,  attacks  women 
much  more  generally  than  men. 

But  the  reverse  of  this  is  true  with 
respect  to  bilious  fever.  Of  those  who  suffer 
from  this  complaint,  the  number  of  men,  in 
relation  to  that  of  women,  bears  the  proportion 
of  about  five  to  three. 

If,  then,  Goitre  and  bilious  fever  are 
descendants  from  a  common  origin,  whence 
is  the  reason  of  their  selecting  the  opposite 
sexes  as  their  proper  subjects  ? 

III.  Though  particular  attention  has 
been  paid  to  this  point,  yet  it  does  not  appear 
to  be  a  general  fact,  that  the  disease  of  Goitre 
is  more  troublesome  from  the  middle  of  summer 
till  the  close  of  autumn,  than  during  any 
other  season  of  the  year. 

But,  this  would  unquestionably  be 
the  case,  were  it  the  offspring  and  nurseling 
of  marsh  miasma.  For,  it  may  be  laid  down 
as  a  medical  axiom,  that  diseases  are  always 
in  their  highest  state,  when  the  causes  which 
produce  them  are  most  active.  But,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  add,  that   the  close  of  sum? 


[      292     ] 

trier  and  the   months   of  autumn  constitute 
the  season  of  riot  to  marsh  exhalation. 

IV.  Were  Goitre  produced  by  the 
miasm  of  putrefaction,  it  would,  generally, 
like  other  forms  of  bilious  fever,  make  its 
■first  appearance  in  summer  or  autumn. 

But,  the  case  is  directly  the  reverse  of 
this.  Winter  and  spring  (I  mean  the  begin- 
ning of  spring)  are  the  most  common  seasons 
for  the  commencement  of  Goitre. 

Hence,  this  disease  has  been  so  fre- 
quently ascribed  to  the  action  of  cold,  but 
more  frequently  still,  to  the  use  of  water 
obtained  from  the  solution  of  snow. 

V.  Diseases,  or  forms  of  disease,  which 
spring  from  a  common  cause,  oftentimes 
exchange  appearances,  or  alternate  with  each 
other. 

This  well  known  fact  constitutes  a 
principal  point  of  evidence,  in  favour  of 
the  opinion,  which  ascribes  a  common  origin 
to  intermitting  fever,  remitting  fever,  yellow 
fever,  and  dysentery.  To  the  practitioner 
of  experience  and  observation,  it  is  unneces-i 
sary  to  remark,  that  these  complaints  possess* 


[     293      ] 

and  frequently  exhibit,  what  may  be  termed 
a  reciprocal  trans  mutability,  or  vicarious  exist- 
ence. 

But,  this  is  by  no  means  the  case^ 
with  regard  to  Goitre  and  bilious  fever. 
Medical  records  furnish  no  instance,  where 
these  two  diseases  appear  to  have  been 
changed,  by  vicarious  action,  the  one  into  the 
other. 

VI.  Goitre,  as  formerly  observed,  is 
oftentimes  accompanied  by  an  approach  to 
fatuity. 

But,  no  such  affect  as  this  has  ever 
been  known  to  result  from  the  action  of 
marsh  miasma,  except  as  a  consequence  of 
general  and  protracted  fever.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  bilious  tracts  of  country  possess,  in 
general,  as  much  strength  and  acuteness  of 
intellect,  as  those  of  other  places. 

VII.  In  all  places  where  bilious  fever 
prevails  as  an  endemic,  it  is  marked  by  a 
kind  of  periodical  violence  ;  that  is,  the  inha- 
bitants are  severely  afmctcd  by  it  for  one  or 
more  years,  after  which  they  are  in  some 
measure  exempt  from  it,  for  an  equal,  or 
perhaps    a  greater    length  of  time.     Similar 


[     294     ] 

remissions,  with  regard  to  their  epidemic 
force,  are  observable  in  the  pestilential  dis- 
eases of  the  East. 


But  no  such  intervals  occur  in  the 
prevalence  of  Goitre.  Checked  by  no  sea- 
son, and  fed  by  no  periodical  constitution  of 
atmosphere,  this  disease,  wherever  it  prevails, 
is,  at  all  times,  nearly  uniform  in  its  extent 
and  violence. 


VIII.  The  last  argument  I  shall  propose, 
in  opposition  to  the  opinion,  that  marsh 
miasma  gives  origin  to  Goitre,  is,  that  this 
noxious  gas  is  never  known  to  produce,  in  any 
instance  (except  perhaps  in  the  hepatitis  of 
the  east)  a  topical  and  chronic  affection,  unless 
as  the  result  of  preceding  general  fever. 


This  is  undoubtedly  the  case  with  regard 
to  the  enlargement  and  induration,  which  it 
occasionally  produces  with  us,  in  the  viscera 
of  the  abdomen.  Indeed,  the  above  miasm, 
when  it  gives  rise  to  disease,  appears  to  be 
almost  as  uniformly  and  essentially  a  febrile 
(stimulus,  as  that  which  gives  origin  to  small 
pox,  measles,  or  scarlatina. 


t      295      % 

But,  Goitre  occurs  at  first  independently 
of  fever,  and  must,  therefore,  be  attributed  to 
some  other  souixe. 

I  shall  make  no  apology  to  Dr.  Barton 
for  the  freedom  I  have  used,  in  the  consider- 
ation of  his  opinion.  I  know  his  mind  to  be 
too  enlightened  and  liberal,  to  take  umbrage 
at  an  enquiry,  where  truth  is  the  object,  and 
where  all  personalities  are  studiously  avoided. 

When  characters  conspicuous  for  their 
talents  and  philosophical  attainments,  become, 
through  mistake,  the  advocates  of  error,  it  is 
necessary  that  early  opposition  be  made  to 
their  opinions,  lest,  like  encreasing  torrents, 
they  prove  at  length  irresistable,  and  hurry 
along  with  them  inferior  minds,  in  a  triumph- 
ant wreck. 

By  this  consideration  alone,  have  I  been 
principally  actuated,  in  offering  the  foregoing 
strictures  on  the  opinion  of  our  author,  rela- 
tive to  the  cause  of  the  disease  of  Goitre. 

It  will  probably  be  expected,  that  after 
having  rejected  the  theory  of  Dr.  Barton, 
respecting  the  origin  of  the  complaint  in 
question,  I  should  now  proceed  to  deliver  a 
less  exceptionable  theory  of  my  own.     This 


[     296     ] 

task,  however,  I  must  for  the  present  decline. 
It  belongs,  more  particularly,  to  those  physi- 
cians, whose  lot,  by  throwing  them  into 
goitrous  regions,  has  given  them  access  to 
the  only  kind  of  knowledge  worth  possessing 
on  the  subject,  I  mean  the  knowledge  derived 
from  observation. 


V.TNI  S. 


TIIOJIAS   &  WILLIAM    DRADFORD,  PRINTERS. 


ADDRESS 


ro  TBS 


Philadelphia  Medical  Society, 


AM 


ADDRESS 


TO    THE 


$fnla&elp!)ta  iHrtitcal  Society 

ON    THE    ANALOGIES    BETWEEN 

Tellow  Fever  and  True  Plague^ 

DELIVERED, 

BT     APPOINTMENT, 

©N    THE    20th   OF  FEBRUARY,    1801. 


BY    CHARLES    CALDWELL,    M.    D. 

'■ 


pijilaneipljta : 


PRINTED   BY  THOMAS  &  WILLIAM  BRADFORD,  BOOKSELLERS 
AND   STATIONERS,    NO.   8,  SOUTH  FRONT   STREET. 

1801, 


ADDRESS, 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


UentlemeH  of  the  Medical  Society, 


T  is  not  of  my  own  but  of  ycur  choice, 
that  I  rise  to  commemorate  the  anniversary  of 
our  institution.  An  obedience  to  your  will, 
and  a  resolution  against  delinquency,  in  what- 
ever may  become  my  duty  by  the  suffrages  of 
the  society,  are  the  only  motives  which  could 
have  drawn  me  from  the  secure  walks  of 
private  membership,  to  appear  as  the  minister 
of  the  present  occasion.  These  considerations 
encourage  me  to  hope,  that  the  same  senti- 
ments of  partiality,  which  predominated  in  my 
appointment  as  your  orator,  will  induce  you 
now  to  palliate  my  faults,  and  to  condemn 
even  my  errors  with  a  spirit  of  mildness.  For, 
who  will  venture  to  become  a  candidate  for  your 
indulgence,  if  it  be  denied  to  a  functionary  of 
your  own  election,  whose  ambition  is  rendered 
virtuous,  by  consisting  in  a  wish  to  merit 
vour  approbation ! 

Rr 


[      305      ] 

As  the  art  of  oratory  is  foreign  from  th* 
profession  to  which  I  am  devoted )  and,  as  I 
mean  to  address  myself,  at  present,  to  your 
understandings,  not  to  your  imaginations  or 
your  feelings,  I  disclaim  all  pretension  to  the 
ornaments  of  rhetoric.  It  neither  comports 
with  my  qualifications,  nor  falls  within  my 
aim,  to  awaken  your  sorrows  by  the  enginery 
of  pathos :  it  belongs  not  to  me  to  conduct 
you  enwraptured  through  the  Elysium  of 
fancy,  to  cull  on  our  way  the  flowers  of  taste, 
and  strew  them  before  you  in  the  extrava- 
gance cf  declamation :  nor  is  mine  the  power 
to  overwhelm  your  souls  by  the  grandeur  of 
imagery,  to  lead  them  captive  by  the  magic  of 
harmony,  nor  to  hurry  them  away  by  the 
energy  of  action  :  the  accomplishment  of  these 
ends  calls  for  endowments  which  none  but  the 
favourites  of  nature  can  boast. 

Speaking  as  I  do,  not  to  persuade  and 
rouse  to  action,  but  simply  to  elucidate  my 
subject,  and  to  produce,  if  possible,  a  convic- 
tion of  its  truth,  some  degree  of  perspicuity, 
and  correctness  of  argument,  are  the  only 
properties  of  oratory  at  which  I  shall  aim. 
For  such  is  the  modest  simplicity  of  attire  in 
which  physical  science  delights  to  appear. 

Having  attempted,  in  a  work  which  will 
be  shortly  before  the  public,  to  establish  the 


[      307      ] 

identity  of  the  common  bilious  and  the  yellow 
fever,  Ibegleavetolaybefore  you,  in  the  follow- 
ing address,  a  statement  of  a  few  analogies 
between  the  latter  disease  and  true  plague,  or, 
in  other  words,  between  the  American  and  the 
oriental  pestilence. 

I  am  persuaded  you  will  accompany  me, 
without  reluctance,  in  a  brief  contemplation 
of  these  diseases,  of  which  one  has  so  lately 
been  the  scourge  of  our  own  country,  and 
the  other  is  now  spreading  terror  through  the 
continent  of  Europe.  Calamities  of  such 
magnitude  and  extent,  call  for  the  united 
exertion  of  the  intellect  of  nations,  to  shed 
light  on  their  nature  and  cause,  and  for  the 
strenuous  co-operation  of  society  at  large,  to 
stay  or  avert  their  desolating  progress. 

Though  the  analogies  between  yellow 
fever  and  the  pestilence  of  the  EasMnight  be 
treated  of  on  a  very  extensive  scale,  I  shall 
confine  myself  to  narrower  bounds,  and  dwell 
chiefly  on  those,  which  relate  to  the  epidemic 
rise,  progress,  and  termination  of  these  forms 
of  disease.  Analogies  resting  on  the  corres- 
pondence of  either  their  general  or  particular 
symptoms,  being  less  characteristic  sha.ll 
receive  less  of  our  regard. 


[      308      ] 

It  is  alike  inconsistent  with  my  intention, 
and  with  the  necessary  limits  of  my  address, 
to  attempt  a  detail  of  all  the  hypotheses  on 
the  origin  of  pestilence,  that  have  contributed 
to  mislead  the  world,  and  to  perpetuate  the 
weakness  and  ignorance  of  their  authors. 

A  certain  writer?  (')  however,  in  our 
own  country,  whose  pen  has  been  lately 
employed  on  this  subject,  has  given  birth 
to  such  a  physico-theological  monster — has 
erected  such  a  Colossus  of  bigotry,  error,  and 
absurdity,  that  a  few  words  in  describing  and 
exposing  its  deformities  may  not  be  amiss! 
Indeed  this  hypothesis,  while  it  constitutes, 
in  its  nature,  a  paragon  of  ignorance,  is,  in 
its  form,  so  perfect  a  non-descript  in  the  cata- 
logue of  folly,  that  to  pass  it  unnoticed  would 
bespeak  inattention. 

The  writer,  to  whom  I  allude,  is  Mr. 
James  Tytlcr,  a  plodding  compiler  in  medi- 
cine, much  more  accustomed  to  reading  than 
to  thinking,  and  much  more  remarkable  for 
illiberal  Invective  than  for  solid  argument.  An 
indefatigable    drudge    in    medical    literature, 


(1)    The    following    remarks    relate  exclusively  to    this 

s  medical   pretensions,    and  have    no    reference    to 
.•.:ncnts  in  any  other  dtpartny. n:  of  knowledge. 


[      309      ] 

but  wholly  incapable  of  combination  or 
arrangement,  the  summit  of  even  his  proba- 
ble usefulness  will  be  (like  that  of  those  who 
supply  the  mason  with  mortar  and  stone) 
to  furnish  materials  for  others  to  systemize. 


This  author,  whose  vanity  is  the  only  coun- 
terpart to  his  weakness,  supposes  the  conta- 
gion of  plague  to  have  been  manufactured  in 
Heaven,  for  the  express  purpose  of  inflicting 
the  vengeance  of  Deity  on  the  profligate  Jews. 
Respecting  the  manner  in  which  this  celestial 
poison,  when  compounded,  was  conveyed  to 
the  devoted  theatre  of  its  ravages,  our  author 
has  unfortunately  left  us  in  the  dark.  But, 
as  conjecture  is  allowable,  where  information 
is  wanting,  we  may  supply  this  deficiency, 
by  supposing  it  consistent  with  this  gentle- 
man's belief,  that  a  special  messenger  was 
dispatched  from  above,  bearing  the  matter  of 
contagion  in  a  box,  which,  like  that  of 
Pandora,  was  opened  in  the  midst  of  the 
camp  of  Isreal,  and  its  contents  suffered  to 
escape,  and  attach  themselves  to  the  objects 
of  divine  resentment.  However  extravagant 
this  supposition  may  appear,  and  however 
near  it  may  be  thought  to  approach  to  the 
reveries  of  lunacy,  it  commits  no  greater 
outrage  on  reason  and  common   sense,  than 


[      510     ] 

may  be  found  in  many  parts  of  Mr.  Tytler's 
publication. 

Spreading,  through  the  medium  of 
conquest  and  otherwise,  from  the  chosen 
people  to  surrounding  nations,  the  plague 
has  been  thus,  through  every  vicissitude  of 
seasons,  and  every  revolution  in  our  atmos- 
phere, perpetuated  by  contagion  from  the, 
days  of  Moses  to  the  present  period  ! 

Such  is  the  monument  of  ignorance  and 
superstition,  which  a  man,  who  pretends  to 
instruct  his  cotemporaries,  has  erected  in 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  !  A  monu- 
ment, worthy  of  a  place  amid  the  barbarism 
of  Egypt,  where  the  inhabitants  attribute  the 
cessation  of  the  plague,  in  common  with  the 
swelling  of  the  Nile,  to  the  immediate  agency 
of  a  tutelary  angel ! 

So  monstrous  are  the  errors,  and  so 
gross  the  absurdities  of  this  hypothesis,  as 
to  preclude  the  necessity,  and  even  to  render 
doubtful  the  propriety,  of  a  refutation.  For, 
in  the  words  of  the  poet, 

"  Vice  is  a  mcuster  of  such  hideous  mien, 
'•  A?  to  b  ■  rieeds  but  to  be  seen!*' 


[    sii    ] 

And  such  is  also  the  case  with  the  consum- 
mation of  bigotry  and  folly  ! — But  to  proceed 
to  an  enumeration  of  the  analogies  pro- 
posed. 

The  plague  of  Asia,  like  the  yellow 
fever  or  pestilence  of  our  own  country,  is  a 
disease  which  delights  in  the  devastation  of 
populous  cities.  Perhaps  neither  of  these 
calamities  has  ever  been  known  to  originate, 
as  an  epidemic,  in  villages  or  country  situa- 
tions ;  nor  do  they  oftentimes  extend  to  such 
places,  even  in  times  of  their  most  general 
prevalence.  It  is  only  in  the  artificial  and 
vitiated  atmospheres  of  large  cities,  that  they 
are  able  to  find  a  sufnciency  of  their  proper 
nourishment. 

True  plague,  when  it  has  prevailed  in 
the  cities-of  Europe,  has  always  made  its 
appearance  about  the  close  of  spring,  or  in 
the  course  of  the  summer,  has  reached  its 
summit  in  the  autumnal  months,  and  declined 
or  wholly  disappeared  on  the  commencement 
of  cold  weather.  But  such  is  known  to  be, 
in  like  manner,  the  course  of  the  yellow 
fever  or  pestilence  of  America.  To  the 
generation  and  propagation  of  both  these 
diseases,  therefore,  a  warm  atmosphere  is  no 
less  necessary,  than   the  filth    and  crouded 


C     312     ] 

population  of  large  cities.  Even  when  com- 
mitting their  heaviest  devastations,  a  few 
nights  of  cold  weather,  particularly  if  it  be 
accompanied  by  frost,  will  check  them  as 
certainly,  and  almost  as  speedily,  as  it  will 
the  vegetation  of  tropical  plants.  I  know  of 
no  instance  on  record  of  either  of  these  disea- 
ses having  prevailed,  to  any  extent,  through- 
out the  winter  of  high  latitudes.  (2) 

It  is  a  circumstance  alike  common  td 
plague  and  yellow  fever,  that  they  occur 
epidemically,  in  places  subject  to  them,  only 
at  certain  irregular  periods,  or  after  indefinite 
intervals  of  time.  Fortunately  these  destroyers 
of  the  human  race  do  not  appear  as  the  regu- 
lar endemics  of  any  situation.  Though 
summer  and  autumn  are  their  native  seasons, 
yet  these  seasons  are  not  alone  sufficient 
to  produce  them,  unless  they  be  aided  by  a 
pestilential  constitution  of  atmosphere. 


(2)  It  is  perhaps  possible  that,  independently  of  summer 
and  autumnal  exhalation,  the  atmospheres  of  places  may  be 
rendered  so  malignant  by  more  general  causes,  as  to  protract 
pestilence  throughout  the  winter.  But  such  occurrences 
(supposing  thbir  existence  practicable)  have  been  certain! 
less  rare  than  calamitou-. 


C      313      ] 

Epidemic  plague  banishes  from  around 
it  every  other  form  of  febrile  disease,  and 
reigns  itself  the  solitary  tyrant  of  the  place 
where  it  prevails.  It  would  be  superfluous 
to  offer  testimony  in  confirmation  of  this  fact. 
Most  authors  on  pestilence,  who  have  written 
from  observation,  bear  witness  to  its  truth. 
But  the  same  thing  is  true  with  regard  to  the 
epidemic  state  of  yellow  fever.  Taking  pos- 
session of  the  atmosphere,  it  expels  or  suf- 
focates all  other  descriptions  of  fever,  and 
creates  for  itself  a  dismal  solitude.  During 
the  late  autumns  in  which  it  prevailed  in  this 
place,  it  is  known  by  our  practitioners  to  have 
suffered  no  rival  disease  to  approach  it. 

Plague  and  yellow  fever  are  alike 
remarkable  for  being  preceded,  followed,  or 
accompanied  in  adjacent  places,  either  by 
new  diseases,  or  by  an  increase  in  the  fre- 
quency, but  more  particularly  in  the  malignity 
of  common  diseases.  Since  the  year  eighty 
nine,  this  country  has  been  several  times 
visited  by  epidemic  catarrh,  and  in  some 
places  by  an  epidemic  cynanche,  diseases 
which  had  not  before  occurred  to  such  extent, 
within  the  memory  of  our  oldest  citizens. 
Since  the  same  period,  the  common  diseases, 
in  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  have 

Ss 


[     814     ] 

undergone  such  a  striking  change,  as  to  call 
for  a  different  and  much  more  energetic  mode 
of  treatment.  That  similar  phenomena  are 
connected  with  the  prevalence  of  plague  in 
Europe,  and  in  the  East,  we  learn  from  many 
works  on  the  subject,  particularly  from  that 
of  Dr.  Patrick  Russel,  and  from  Mr.  Webster's 
excellent  "  History  of  Epidemic  and  Pestilen- 
tial Diseases." 

It  belongs  in  common  to  plague  and 
yellow  fever  to  be  attended  with  most  fatality 
on  their  first  occurrence.  It  is  a  melancholy 
truth,  that  these  diseases  seldom  fail  to  hurry 
to  the  grave  a  great  proportion  of  their  earlier 
subjects.  As  they  become  more  general,  but 
especially  when  they  are  on  the  decline,  indi- 
vidual cases,  laying  aside  their  malignity, 
prove  much  more  manageable,  and  may  be 
generally  conducted  to  a  favourable  issue. 
These  circumstances  are  probably  attributa- 
ble to  a  threefold  cause. 

1.  Those  first  attacked  by,  would  appear 
to  be  most  strongly  predisposed  to,  the  above 
diseases,  and  therefore  to  be  most  likely  to 
have  them  in  a  violent  degree. 

2.  In  this  early  state  of  things,  an  igno- 
rance of  the  dangerous  nature  of  their  com- 


C     315     ] 

plaints,  prevents  patients  from  being  sufTU 
ciently  prompt  in  applying  for  medical 
aid. 

3.  On  the  first  occurrence  of  an  epi- 
demic, physicians  themselves,  neither  ac- 
quainted with  its  character  nor  aware  of  its 
malignity,  generally  fail  to  treat  the  early 
cases  of  it  with  sufficient  boldness. 

Neither  plague  nor  yellow  fever  can 
prevail  at  any  time,  nor  in  any  place,  which 
is  not  calculated  to  give  rise  to  an  abun- 
dance of  putrid  exhalation.  Whatever  is 
inimical  to  the  origin  of  such  exhalation, 
proves  equally  inimical  to  these  complaints. 
But  the  production  of  this  poisonous  gas  is 
particularly  prevented  by  three  causes,  name- 
ly, cold,  great  humidity,  and  excessive  heat 
accompanied  by  an  excessive  aridity  of  the 
atmosphere. 

The  hostility  of  the  first  of  these 
causes  to  the  diseases  in  question,  h%s 
been  already  mentioned,  that  of  the  two 
latter  shall  be  treated  of  in  a  subsequent  part 
pf  my  address, 

Thus  far  on  the  analogies  derived 
more  immediately  from  the  origin  of  plague 


C      316      J 

and  yellow  fever.  In  the  phenomena  con- 
nected with  their  propagation,  they  exhibit 
no  less  of  a  kindred  nature. 

Though  they  have  both  somewhat  the 
appearance  of  spreading  by  contagion,  their 
progress  is  certainly  too  rapid,  to  depend  on 
a  cause  of  such  limitted  powers.  Allow  me 
to  call  your  attention  to  a  palpable  inconsis- 
tency (not  to  say  an  absolute  contradiction) 
which  exists  in  the  state  of  common  opinion 
on  this  subject. 

Plague  and  yellow  fever  are  acknow- 
ledged by  every  one  to  be  much  less  con- 
tagious than  small  pox,  because  they  attack 
with  much  less  certainty  persons  exposed 
for  a  short  time  to  their  influence  Nor 
are  they  supposed  to  be  communicated  to 
so  great  a  distance  as  small  pox.  Not- 
withstanding this,  they  spread  with  nearly 
tenfold  its  rapidity.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  weeks,  they  will  overrun  an  extent  of 
city,  which  it  would  scarcely  pervade  in 
twice  as  many  months.  Here  then,  admit- 
ting plague  and  yellow  fever  to  spread  by 
contagion  at  all,  they  would  appear  to  be 
hoih  more  and  less  contagious  than  the 
small  pox.  But  this  is  a  position  which 
even  the  advocates  of  contagion  will  reject, 


[      317      ] 

Perhaps  the  only  method  of  removing  the 
contradiction,  is  to  admit  that  the  two  for- 
mer diseases  are  not  propagated  by  conta- 
gion at  all,  but  by  the  more  powerful 
medium  of  a  vitiated  atmosphere.  But 
more  of  this   hereafter. 


It  is  a  fact  notorious  in  the  United  States, 
that  if  a  patient,  in  the  most  malignant 
state  of  yellow  fever,  be  removed  from  the 
city  to  the  country,  he  may  there  be  visi- 
ted and  nursed,  without  endangering  the 
health  of  his  physicians  or  attendants.  But 
we  learn  from  Prosper  Alpinus,  Russell, 
Mariti,  Sonnini,  and  various  other  writers, 
that  the  same  thing  is  true  with  regard 
to  the  pestilence  of  the  East.  When  per- 
sons ill  of  that  disease  are  conveyed  from  a 
place  where  it  is  epidemic,  to  one  where  it 
is  not,  they  may  be  approached  and  attended 
without  hazard. 


True  plague,  therefore,  exhibits  no 
unequivocal  marks  of  contagion,  when  remo- 
ved without  the  limits  of  a  malignant  atmos- 
phere. That  calamity  is  believed  to  be,  for 
the  most  part,  introduced  into  Syria  and 
Egypt  from  Constantinople.     Yet,  in  common 


C     313     1 

years,  when  no  pestilential  state  of  the 
elements  prevails,  persons  in  all  stages  of  it 
arrive  from  the  latter  in  different  parts  of  the 
former  places,  without  communicating  infec- 
tion to  anv  one. 

The  physicians  of  America  have  not 
now  to  learn,  that  certain  classes  of  per- 
sons are  much  more  liable  than  others  to  be 
attacked  by  yellow  fever.  But  this  is  in 
like  manner  true  with  respect  to  the  oriental 
pestilence  :  and  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable, 
that  these  two  diseases  manifest  a  predilection 
for  persons  and  habits  of  the  same  descrip- 
tion. 

Does  yellow  fever  attack  and  destroy 
men  rather  than  women?    So  does  pestilence. 

Does  the  former  select,  as  its  victims, 
the  robust,  the  healthy,  and  the  young,  rather 
than  the  weak,  the  infirm,  and  the  aged? 
Such  is  also  the  case  with  the  destroyer  of 
the  East.  Persons  turned  of  their  seventieth 
year  have,  comparatively  speaking,  but  little 
to  apprehend  from  that  dreadful  calamity. 

Does  yellow  fever  spare  infants  and 
children  rather  than  adults  ?    And  does  not  a 


[      319     ] 

similar  discrimination  characterize  the  deso- 
lating course  of  pestilence  ! 

Finally,  do  not  both  these  diseases 
either  entirely  pass  over,  or  but  slightly  affect, 
the  frugal  and  the  sober,  while  they  attack 
more  certainly,  and  more  certainly  destroy 
the  luxurious  and  the  intemperate  ? 

But  it  is  not  alone  for  the  same  descrip- 
tions of  the  human  race,  that  these  two  dis- 
eases possess  and  exhibit  a  common  predilec- 
tion. They  also  attack,  in  common,  the  same 
species  of  inferior  animals.  Of  creatures 
subservient  to  man,  the  dog,  the  cat,  the 
horse,  and  the  cow,  have  been  pre-eminent  in 
their  sufferings  from  yellow  fever  and  pesti- 
lence. And,  to  extend  the  analogy  still  farther, 
these  diseases  appear  to  have  attacked,  in 
common,  even  the  tenants  of  the  air,  and  the 
more  secure  inhabitants  of  the  flood.  The 
liability  of  such  a  variety  of  disconnected 
1  animals  to  their  influence,  would  seem  to 
furnish  incontestible  evidence,  that  their  cause 
exists  in  the  common  atmosphere  of  the  places 
where  they  prevail. 

The  prevalence  of  plague  and  yellow 
fever  is  marked,  in  the  countries  where  they 
appear,   or  in  adjacent  places,  with  similar 


[      320     ] 

peculiarities  in  the  surrounding  and  conco- 
mitant phenomena  of  nature.  Some  of  these 
peculiarities  are, 

I.  Certain  irregularities  in  the  seasons 
and  weather ;  such  as,  extremely  severe 
winters,  intensely  hot  summers,  excessive 
droughts,  or  profuse  rains,  and  an  uncommon 
prevalence,  but  more  frequently  an  unusual 
absence,  of  hurricanes  and  thunder  storms. 
To  these  phenomena  may  be  added,  the  occur- 
rence of  earthquakes,  and  the  eruptions  of 
volcanos. 

II.  The  temporary  disappearance  of 
certain  species  of  birds.  As  many  of  the 
feathered  race  emigrate  annually  to  shun  the 
severe  winters  of  the  north,  some  of  them 
have  been  known  to  forsake  for  a  while  their 
places  of  residence,  to  escape  the  effects  of  a 
vitiated  atmosphere. 

III.  Hosts  of  new,  or  an  excessive 
increase  in  the  numbers  of  common  insects 
and  reptiles.  It  would  be  needless  to  remind 
you  of  the  myriads  of  locusts,  that  so  fre- 
quently desolate  the  countries  of  the  East, 
during  periods  of  pestilence  ;  and  many  of 
you  will  long  remember  the  profusion  of 
musquitos,  grasshoppers,  worms,  he.  which 


C      321      ] 

for  some  years  past,    have    infested  certain 
parts  of  the  United  States. 

IV.  Great  luxuriance,  alarming  steri- 
lity, or  an  unusual  degree  of  disease,  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom.  Though  in  common 
expression,  and  in  the  association  of  our 
ideas,  pestilence  is  generally  connected  with 
famine,  yet  medical  records  inform  us,  that  this 
calamity  has  also  prevailed  in  times  of  un- 
common plenty. 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  irregular  phe- 
nomena, which,  in  their  respective  countries, 
accompany  in  common  the  course  of  yellow 
fever,  and  the  course  of  pestilence.  Some 
of  them  appear  to  be  the  effects,  and  others 
only  the  kindred  concomitants,  of  that  malig- 
nant constitution  of  atmosphere,  which  co- 
operates in  the  production  of  pestilential  dis- 
eases. 

By  plague  as  well  as  by  yellow  fever 
we  are  liable  to  be  affected  sundry  times  : 
yet  these  diseases  resemble  each  other,  in 
leaving  the  system,  which  has  already 
suffered  from  them,  less  liable  than  before 
to  further  attacks. 


Tt 


C      322     3 

The  present  is  not  an  improper  place 
to  remark,  that  the  leading  pathological 
characters  of  plague  and  yellow  fever  bear 
a  reciprocal  and  strong  resemblance. 

They  are  both  ushered  in  by  febrile 
symptoms,  sometimes  rapid,  violent,  and 
alarming ;  at  other  times,  slow  in  their  pro- 
gress, and  light  in  appearance,  yet  in  reality 
insidious  and  dangerous.  It  is  common  to 
these  diseases,  that  the  subjects  of  them  are, 
in  some  instances,  to  the  greatest  degree 
prostrated  in  their  strength,  from  the  com- 
mencement of  their  illness,  and  in  others 
walk  about,  apparently  but  little  indisposed, 
till  within  a  few  hours  of  dissolution. 

They  both  direct  their  principal  force 
against  the  head,  stomach,  and  abdominal 
viscera.  Evidence  in  favour  of  this  assertion 
may  be  collected,  no  less  from  the  symptoms 
and  complaints  of  patients  while  living,  than 
from  dissections  of  their  bodies  after  death. 
In  both  diseases  the  stomach,  in  particular, 
is  observed  to  be  almost  uniformly  affected 
by  inflammation. 

Does  yellow  fever  oftentimes  terminate 
in  the  black  vomit,  and  in  hemorrhages  from 
different   parts   of  the    body?    And   do  not 


£      323      ] 

similar  phenomena  sometimes  mark  the  ternu> 
nation  of  pestilence  ? 

Does  yellow  fever  derive  its  name  from 
the  frequent  colour  of  the  eyes  and  skin,  in 
those  whom  it  affects  ?  And  does  not  a 
similar  yellowness  oftentimes  appear  in  pro- 
tracted cases  of  true  plague  ?  When  death 
occurs  on  the  first  or  second  day  of  illness, 
this  symptom  is  alike  wanting  in  both  dis- 
eases. 

Is  plague  characterized,  in  most  cases, 
by  bubos,  and,  in  many,  by  carbuncles  or 
malignant  ulcers  of  the  skin  ?  And  is  not 
yellow  fever  accompanied  at  times  with  the 
same  symptoms  ?  Occurrences  by  no  means 
unfrequent  in  the  autumns  of  ninety  three, 
ninety '  seven,  and  ninety  eight,  authorize  the 
physicians  of  Philadelphia  to  reply  in  the 
affirmative. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that,  in  the  fre- 
quency of  these  glandular  swellings  and 
cutaneous  ulcers,  plague  differs  more  from 
yellow  fever,  than  it  does  in  any  other  par- 
ticular. But  an  occasional  difference  between 
the  external  symptoms  of  two  diseases,  is 
not  alone  sufficient  to  establish  the  existence 
of  an  essential  difference  between  their  na- 


[      524     ]  ' 

ture  and  causes.  Even  the  same  disease, 
under  different  circumstances,  never  fails  to 
appear  under  a  different  form.  To  such 
an  extent  is  this  true,  that  we  seldom  find 
an  entire  similarity  between  any  two  cases  of 
the  same  epidemic. 

It  is  a  truth,  of  which  no  one  acquainted 
with  medical  science  can  be  ignorant,  that 
yellow  or  bilious  fever  is  oftentimes  attended 
with  certain  cutaneous  affections  in  the  West 
Indies,  which  but  seldom  accompany  it  in  the 
United  States.  Yet  no  physician  will  suffer 
such  a  circumstance  to  excite  a  doubt  in  his 
m'ind,£respecting  the  identity  of  this  disease  as 
it  prevails  in  the  two  countries. 

What  complaints  can  be  more  different 
in  their  appearance  and  general  character,  than 
the  British  plague  of  1666,  and  the  Sudor 
Angiicanus  or  sweating  sickness  of  the  same 
century?  Yet,  have  not  these  diseases  been 
uniformly"  considered  as  nothing  else  than 
modifications  or  varieties  of  pestilence  ? 

Who  does  not  know,  that  even  the 
complaints  of  pregnancy  and  the  pains  of 
parturition,  are  greatly  modified  by  the  influ- 
ence of  climate  ?    Yet,  who   will  deny  that 


C      325      ] 

these  processes  are  the  same,  in  every  inhabit- 
ed portion  of  the  globe  ? 

It  may  be  further  observed,  on  this 
subject,  that  plague  is  more  generally  charac- 
terized by  glandular  swellings  in  the  Turkish 
dominions,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  East, 
than  it  is  when  it  prevails  in  the  countries  of 
Europe.  Hence  there  appears  strong  ground 
to  infer,  that  these  affections,  instead  of  con- 
stituting one  of  its  essential  symptoms,  are  only 
the  result  of  accidental  circumstances.  And 
hence,  from  this  difference,  on  the  score  of 
bubos  and  carbuncles,  between  plague  and 
yellow  fever,  no  argument  of  weight  can  be 
drawn,  to  establish  a  difference  in  their  nature 
and  cause. 

In  their  type,  their  critical  days,  and 
indeed  their  whole  course,  cases  of  plague 
and  yellow  fever  exhibit  a  perfect  similitude. 

They  are  both  marked  with  very  evident 
morning  remissions,  and  evening  exacerba- 
tions. 

They  both  attack,  in  some  instances, 
with  such  force,  as  to  prove  destructive  to 
life  in  a  few  hours.  But,  in  general,  their 
progress  is  not  so  rapid.    They  seldom  reach 


[      326      ] 

their  crisis  before  the  third,  fifth,  or  seventh, 
and  sometimes  not  before  the  ninth,  or  the 
eleventh  day.  It  will  be  observed,  that  with 
regard  to  their  critical  days,  they  seem  alike 
partial  to  odd  numbers.  Even  that  state  of 
apyrexia,  which  oftentimes  occurs  about  the 
third  day  in  yellow  fever,  and  which  has  been 
considered  by  some  as  peculiarly  characteristic 
of  that  disease,  foims  no  uncommon  feature 
in  the  pestilence  of  the  East. 

But  epidemic  plague  and  yellow  fever 
resemble  each  other  in  their  decline  and  ter- 
mination, no  less  than  they  do  in  their '  rise 
and  progress. 

Having  raged  with  more  or  less  violence 
throughout  the  summer  and  autumnal  months, 
the  career  of  both  is  immediately  closed  on 
the  accession  of  cold  weather.  So  completely 
are  their  semina  blasted  by  a  moderate  frost, 
that,  after  such  an  occurrence,  there  remains 
in  general  no  shadow  of  ground  to  dread  their 
influence.  It  is  indeed  true,  that  sporadic  cases 
of  these  diseases  appear  even  in  the  depth  of 
winter:  but  they  are  the  offspring  of  causes 
which  operate  only  on  a  circumscribed  scale. 
It  belongs  to  spring,  summer,  and  autumn, 
particularly  to  the  two  latter  seasons,  to  render 
the  plague  and  yellow  fever  epidemic.     The 


[      327      ] 

reason  of  this  is  obvious.  It  is  during  these 
seasons  only,  that  a  sufficiency  of  putrid 
exhalation  can  be  evolved,  to  impregnate  the 
atmosphere  to  the  pestilential  point. 

To  the  foregoing  account  of  the  termi- 
nation of  plague,  I  am  not  ignorant  that 
there  exists  an  exception.  Instead  of  con- 
tinuing till  the  commencement  of  winter, 
this  disease,  in  Egypt  and  Syria,  terminates 
uniformly  about  the  summer  solstice.  Hence 
it  has  become  proverbial,  that  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold  are  alike  destructive  to  pesti- 
lential contagion. 

Does  not  this  circumstance,  it  may  be 
asked,  constitute  an  essential  difference  be- 
tween plague  and  yellow  fever  ?  I  answer,  it 
does  not.  For,  did  the  latter  disease  visit 
the  above  mentioned  countries,  it  would  ter- 
minate at  the  same  season  with  the  former* 

However  paradoxical  it  may  appear, 
it  is  unquestionably  true,  that  in  Syria  and 
Egypt,  plague  expires  during  the  heats  of 
summer,  on  the  same  principle,  which,  in 
European  countries,  leads  to  its  termination 
on  the  commencement  of  winter.  The  cause, 
in  both  cases,  is  a  failure  of  the  food  of 
putrid  exhalation.     For,  as  already  observed, 


C     328     ] 

plague  and  yellow  fever  prevail  only  at  such 
times  and  in  such  places,  as  are  favourable 
to  the   production  of  this  gaseous  poison. 

In  most  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa  the. 
climates  are  materially  different  from  those  of 
corresponding  latitudes  in  Europe  and  Ame- 
rica. This  difference  is  in  a  great  measure 
attributable  to  the  burning  desarts  of  the 
East,  which,  by  communicating  their  tem- 
perature to  the  surrounding  countries,  render 
them  much  warmer  than  others  remote  from 
such  torrid  regions.  But  epidemic  diseases 
are  known  to  be  greatly  under  the  controul 
of  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere.  We 
must  therefore  expect,  that  the  epidemics  of 
countries  so  dissimilar  in  their  climates  as 
those  just  mentioned,  will  not  only  be  some- 
what different  in  appearance,  but  will  rise 
and  terminate  at  different  seasons  of  the 
year. 

Syria  and  Egypt  may  both  be  consi- 
dered as  southern  regions,  subject  no  less 
to  extremely  dry  than  to  intensely  hot 
weather.  In  the  former  country  no  rain 
falls  from  the  middle  of  May  till  the  middle 
of  September,  while  the  latter  suffers  a 
drought  of  a  much  longer  continuance.  Nor 
has  nature  been  more  liberal  in   supplying 


[     229     ] 

them  with  terrestrial  streams,  than  she  is  in 
refreshing  them  with  the  waters  of  Heaven. 
Syria  contains  no  river  of  note  but  the  Oron- 
tes,  and  the  Nile  is  the  only  one  that  waters 
the  land  of  the  Pharoahs.  The  existence  of 
.smaller  streams  is  rendered  impracticable, 
partly  by  the  scanty  falls  of  rain,  and  partly 
by  the  thirsty  nature  of  the  soil. 


In  consequence  of  this  deficiency  of 
moisture  co-operating  with  the  extreme  heat 
of  their  climates,  these  places,  through- 
out the  summer  months,  exhibit  the  most 
parched  and  dreary  prospect.  During  this 
inclement  season  so  completely  suspended 
are  the  powers  of  vegetation,  and  so  dead 
and  withered  the  foliage  of  most  plants, 
that  both  countries  appear  as  if  scorched  by 
actual  fire.  Exhausted  of  their  waters,  to 
the  last  drop,  even  the  air  and  the  earth  con- 
tribute to  heighten  the  general  aridity.  Under 
such  circumstances,  putrefaction,  no  longer 
able  to  go  forward  for  want  of  humidity,  ceases 
to  impregnate  the  atmosphere  with  deletetrious 
effluvia.  For,  to  the  existence  of  this  process 
moisture  is  do  less  necessary,  than  it  is  to 
preserve  the  verdure,  or  to  promote  the  growth 
of  the  tenderest  vegetable. 
U  u 


[      330     ] 

No  sooner  have  the  heat  and  drcu, 
of  the  season -produced  in  every  thing  such 
an  excess  of  dryness,  which  happens  about 
the  20th  or  24th  of  June  ;  no  sooner  has  the 
atmosphere  become  thus  depurated  of  pu- 
trid exhalation,  than  the  ravages  of  the  plague, 
which  had  been  kept  up  by  the  putrefaction 
of  the  vernal  months,  are  immediately  at 
an  end,  as  if  staid  by  the  influence  of  super- 
natural agency.  Deprived  of  its  proper  ali- 
ment, in  consequence  of  this  deficiency  of 
water,  the  monster  may  be  said  to  perish  by 
famine.  Were  Syria  and  Egypt  supplied 
with  uniform  rains,  like  the  countries  of 
Europe,  there  is  no  doubt  but  summer  and 
autumn  would  be  their  principal  period  of 
suffering  from  this  disease.  After  the  au- 
tumnal rains  of  Syria,  there  is  not  a  suffi- 
ciency of  heat,  previously  to  the  commence- 
ment of  winter,  to  generate  afresh  the  seeds 
of  pestilence. 


We  may  lay  it  down,  then,  as  a  physi- 
cal axiom,  that  the  destruction  of  putrid 
exhalation,  whether  effected  by  the  .frost  of 
winter,  or  by  the  co-operation  of  heat  and 
drought,  will  arrest  the  desolating  progress 
of  plague.  But  the  same  thing  is  true  with 
regard  to  yellow  fever,  which  depends  for 


C     231     ] 

its  origin  and  propagation  on  the  same  efnur 
via.  In-  this  particular,  therefore,  no  less 
than  in  others  a  ready  mentioned,  these  t\yo 
diseases  exhibit  a  striking  affinity. 

I  am  not  ignorant  that  several  writers  of 
note,  have  ascribed  the  cessation  of  the 
Egyptian  plague  to  a  different  cause,  namely, 
to  the  superflux  of  the  river  Nile,  which  they 
alledge  purifies  the  air,  either  by  drowning, 
or  washing  from  the  neigbouring  country, 
all  existing  sources  of  putrefaction.  But  a 
reference  to  dates  will  immediately  convince 
you  that  these  authors  are  mistaken. 

The  Nile  begins  to  swell  about  the 
seventeenth  of  June,  rises  at  the  rate  of  four 
inches  a  day,  and  does  not  overflow  its 
banks  till  the  middle  of  August.  But  the 
plague  ceases  uniformly  about  the  twenty 
fourth  of  June.  How  then  is  it  possible, 
that  the  waters  of  this  river,  which  do  not 
begin  to  inundate  the  country  for  nearly 
two  months  afterwards,  can,  at  this  period, 
either  overwhelm  or  wash  away  the  filth  of 
its  surface  ? 

Were  the  face  of  Egypt  covered  with 
water  at  the  time  when  the  Nile  is  in  reality 
only  beginning  to  swell,  I  would  be  dispose^ 


[      332      ] 

to  attribute  the  ceasing  of  the  plague  to  this 
inundation.  For  an  excess  is  no  less  inimical 
than  a  deficiency  of  water  to  the  putrefactive 
process.  But,  as  every  cause  must  neces- 
sarily precede  its  effect,  it  is  unphilosophical, 
not  to  say  absurd,  to  ascribe  the  cessation  of 
the  plague  of  Cairo,  on  the  twenty  fourth  of 
June,  to  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile  about 
the  middle  of  August.  Though  the  superflux 
cf  this  river  is  the  saviour  of  Egypt  from 
depopulation  by  famine,  it  does  not  appear, 
from  our  latest  and  best  accounts  of  that 
country,  to  have  any  particular  influence  on 
the  health  of  its, inhabitants. 

Those  persons  acquainted  with  my  infi- 
delity respecting  the  contagion  of  yellow 
fever,  will,  no  doubt,  suppose  me  at  a  loss 
to  discover,  on  that  score,  any  analogy 
between  this  disease  and  the  pestilence  of 
the  East. 

On  this  subject  it  becomes  me  to  speal^ 
with  diffidence  and  caution,  because  I  ar^ 
unable  to  speak  from  observation.  To  the 
writings  and  conversation  of  others  am  I 
indebted  for  the  principal  part  of  what 
knowledge  I  possess,  relative  to  the  nature 
of  true  plague.  But  from  all  I  have  been 
able  to  collect  through  these  channels,  I  find 


[     533     ] 

•no  solid  ground  of  belief,  that  this  disease  is 
really  contagious.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
farther  I  pursue  the  enquiry,  the  more  am 
1  inclined  to  consider  it  as  propagated,  not 
by  contagion,  but  solely  through  the  medium 
of  a  vitiated  atmosphere. 

My  principal  reasons  for  this  opinion  I 
will  endeavour  to  lay  before  you  in  a  few 
words. 

I.  Plague  prevails  only  under  certain 
constitutions  of  the  atmosphere,  which  medi- 
cal writers  denominate  pestilential,  and  during 
those  seasons  of  the  year,  which  favour  the 
generation  of  putrid  exhalations.  Two  cir- 
cumstances therefore  seem  essential  to  its 
existence  and  propagation,  an  atmosphere 
radically  malignant,  rendered  still  more  so 
by  the  admixture  of  deleterious  gases.  On 
the  aid  of  these  two  adventitious  causes  it 
is  as  dependent  for  its  prevalence,  as  com- 
bustion is  on  that  of  vital   air. 

But,  how  different  is  the  case  with 
small  pox,  measles,  lues  venera,  and  other 
truly  contagious  diseases?  Possessed  of  an 
inherent  and  independent  power  of  self-pro- 
pagation, these  maladies  prevail  and  spread 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  under  every 


[      334      ]   • 

varying  constitution  pf  atmosphere.     To  ti. 
communication  from    the    sick   to  the   well, 
foul  air  is  no  more  necessary,  than  it  is  for 
the  spreading  of  flame  from  one  combustible 
body  to  another. 

II.  When  plague  is  epidemic  in  a  town 
or  city,  and  cases  of  it  are  removed  to 
healthy  situations  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, or  to  neighbouring  towns  and  villages 
free  from  disease,  it  is  not  communicated 
to  the  nurses  or  attendants  of  the  sick.  This 
fact  is  amply  attested,  and  seems  to  declare 
in  the  most  explicit  terms,  that  the  disease 
in  question  is  not  possessed  of  any  specific 
contagion,  or  inherent  power  of  self-propaga- 
tion, but  is  altogether  the  creature  of  adven- 
titious causes.  Under  similar  circumstances 
how  different  are  the  phenomena  exhibited 
by  small  pox  ?  Like  an  electron  per  se,  this 
disease,  by  means  of  an  infectious  power,  of 
which  nothing  can  deprive  it,  propagates  itself 
alike  in  every  situation. 

III.  The  sudden  and  entire  cessation 
of  plague  in  Syria  and  Egypt  about  the  sum- 
mer solstice,  and  in  Constantinople  on  the, 
accession  of  cold  weather,  is  inimical  to  a 

ief  in  its  contagious  nature.     Immediately 
after  its  termination  in  these  places  (which 


t   3^s    3 

fe  Sometimes  almost  instantaneous,  and  where 
a  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  fatality  prevents 
every  measure  for  the  removal  or  destruction 
of  contagion)  the  apparel  of  the  dead  is  worn 
by  their  surviving  connections,  their  beds 
are  slept  on,  and  their  furniture  in  general 
used  and  handled  in  the  most  familiar  manner. 
Nor  is  this  all :  Even  the  low  filthy  hovels, 
which  had  been  utterly  depopulated  by  the 
disease,  are,  without  purification,  presently 
filled  up  again  by  fresh  inhabitants :  Yet, 
from  all  this  intercourse,  apparently  so  incon- 
siderate and  dangerous,  no  inconvenience 
whatever  is  exnerienced.  Instead  of  imme- 
diately  sweeping  off  those  who  thus  plunge 
into  the  midst  of  its  supposed  fomites,  the 
disease  is  heard  of  no  more,  till  the  return 
of  the  next  season  of  exhalation?  or  perhaps 
till  a  much  more  distant  period,  and  then 
appears  again  without  being  attributable  to 
any  cause,  except  the  existing  state  of  the 
atmosphere. 

Under  the  foregoing  circumstances, 
plague  ceases  at  the  very  time  when  its  sup- 
posed matter  of  contagion  would  seem  to  exist 
in  the  greatest  abundance,  and  when  things 
would  consequently  appear  to  be  in  the  best 
state  of  preparation  for  the  continuance  of  its 
ravages.     But  if  this  disease  cannot  be  con- 


[      33$      j 

tinned  in  action,  by  such  an  immense  volume 
of  fresh  contagious  matter  issuing  immediate- 
ly from  the  bodies  of  many  thousand  sick  and 
dead,  how  can  it  be  called  into  being  again, 
some  time  afterwards,  by  an  inconsiderable 
quantity  of  "the  same  contagion  (now  perhaps 
grown  stale  with  age)  adhering  to  a  bale  of 
goods,  a  chest  of  clothes,  or  even  to  a  single 
article  of  wearing  apparel  ?  As  well  might  we 
attribute  to  a  solitary  and  fading  spark  a  power 
of  producing  and  propagating  flame,  superior 
to  that  possessed  by  an  extensive  and  vigorous 
conflagration,  as  to  aliedge,  that  from  a  small 
and  weakened  portion  of  contagion  a  disease 
may  originate,  which  an  incalculable  quantity 
of  the  same  contagion  in  the  most  active 
state,  was  unable  even  to  preserve  in  exist- 
ence. 


Indeed  were  plague  possessed  of  real 
contagion,  I  know  not  how  it  could  terminate 
in  any  place,  except  with  the  final  extermina- 
tion of  the  inhabitants.  For  as  the  system  is 
known  to  be  subject  to  repeated  invasions  of 
this  disease,  even  during  the  same  season,  a 
firot  attack  would  (particularly  in  places  where 
all  precautions  of  cleanliness  are  neglected) 
prepare  a  sufficiency  of  poison  for  the  super- 
inducement  of  a  second,  which,  on  the  same 


[      337      ] 

principle,'  would  again  prepare  the  way  for  a 
third,  till  death  would  finally  step  in  and 
relieve  the  patient  from  his  accumulated  suf- 
ferings. 

But  it  is  said,  that  plague  is  only  condi- 
tionally contagious  ;  that  it  is  communicable 
from  the  sick  to  the  well,  only  under  certain 
states  or  conditions  of  atmosphere  ;  and,  that 
with  the  termination  of  these  states  or  condi- 
tions, terminates  also  the  communicability  of 
this  disease.  This  is  certainly  a  kind  of 
compromise,  or  half-way  business,  which 
approaches  to  an  acknowledgement,  that  the 
evil  under  consideration  results  from  a 
malignant   constitution  of  the  air. 

The  most  enlightened  and  respectable 
contagionists  alledge,  that  the  foregoing  states 
or  conditions  of  atmosphere  contribute  to  the 
propagation,  of  plague,  not  by  heightening 
the  virulence  of  its  contagion,  but  only  by 
encreasing  the  predisposition  of  the  human 
system,  i.  e.  by  rendering  it  mors  susceptible 
of  the  action  cf  pestilential  poison. 

A  brief  analysis  of  this  proposition  will 
expose  the  fallacy  of  the  principles  on  which 
it  is  founded, 

Xx 


[      338      ] 

It  is  known  to  physicians  thai  the  con- 
stitution of  man  is  not  so  extremely  mutable 
as  to  be  materially  affected  in  its  predisposi- 
tions or  susceptibilities,  by  the  action  of  the 
atmosphere  continued  only  for  a  few  hours 
or  a  few  days.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  a  period  of  many  months  is  not  more 
than  sufficient  for  the  production  of  such 
an  effect.  Agreeably  to  the  reasoning  of 
our  contagionists,  then,  it  would  be  necessa» 
ry  for  a  person  from  a  healthy  situation  to 
reside  a  considerable  time  in  a  place  suffering 
from  pestilence,  before  he  would  be  liable  to 
an  attack  of  the  disease.  For  in  what  other 
way  could  his  system  be  rendered  suscepti- 
ble of  the  action  of  contagion  ? 


But,  how  does  this  inference  comport 
with  observation  ?  Do  we  not  find  that  the 
very  reverse  of  it  is  true  ?  When  a  city  is 
overrun  by  plague,  strangers,  on  their  first 
arrival,  are  known  to  be  even  more  liable  to 
an  attack  of  it,'  than  the  old  and  permanent 
inhabitants  of  the  place.  Yet,  according  to 
the  foregoing  theory  of  our  contagionists,  the 
latter  should  be  alone  subject  to  the  disease, 
because  they  alone  have  resided  long  enough 
in  a  malignant  atmosphere,  to  have  their 
systems  prepared  for  its  poison 


[      33.0      ] 

IV.  The  last  reason  I  shall  offer  for 
disbelieving  in  the  contagion  of  the  plague  is, 
because  it  is  a  disease  which  unquestionably 
has  possession  of  the  atmosphere,  as  is  mani- 
fest from  its  either  banishing  or  assimilating 
to  itseif,  all  other  diseases  of  the  place  where 
it  prevails.  For,  it  may  be  laid  down  as  an 
axiom  (if  indeed  medical  science  admit  of  a 
self-evident  truth)  that  whatever  disease 
acquires  such  an  ascendency  over  its  co- 
temporaries,  as  either  to  banish  them,  ox 
oblige  them  to  assume  its  own  likeness,  must 
do  it  by  gaining  the  entire  command  of  the 
atmosphere.  Through  no  other  medium 
could  it  exercise  such  authority,  because  no 
other  medium  is  so  general  in  its  influence. 

But  I  hold  it  superfluous  to  remark 
to  you,  that  contagion,  resulting  from  disor- 
dered action  in  the  human  system,  is  a  cause 
by  far  too  limitted  and  feeble  to  revolutionize 
the  atmosphere  of  a  large  city.  Though  the 
confined  atmosphere  of  a  single  room,  or  even 
of  a  whole  house,  may  be  thoroughly  contami- 
nated by  exhalation  from  the  sick,  it  is  im- 
possible that  from  a  source  so  disproportion- 
ate, the  same  thing  can  happen  to  a  body  of 
external  atmosphere,  several  miles  in  extent, 
and  renovated  by  a  constant  influx  of  fresh 
air, 


C      340      ] 

In  opposition  to  the  opinion  that  plague 
results  from  a  general  vitiation  of  the  air,  it 
will  no  doubt  be  urged,  that  in  the  cities  of 
the  East,  Europeans  secure  themselves  against 
this  disease, .  by  shutting  themselves  up  in 
their  own  houses,  and  observing  a  strict 
quarantine  during  its  prevalence. 

This  objection  will  probably  have  much 
weight  with  those,  who  either  do  not  know, 
or  do  not  recollect,  that  an  exciting  is  no 
less  necessary  than  a  predisposing  cause,  to 
produce  an  attack  of  pestilential  disease. 
It  is  a  truth  which  must  be  familiar  to  every 
one  who  has  made  medical  science  his  study, 
that  our  systems  may  be  charged  with  the 
exhalation  or  seeds  of  pestilence,  and  yet, 
If  no  excess  or  irregularity  occur  to  excite 
them  into  action,  we  may  still  escape  a  formal 
attack. 


Such  appears  to  be  the  case  with  the 
above  mentioned  Europeans.  Though  many 
of  them  retire  into  their  houses  carrying  along 
with  them  the  remote  cause  of  pestilence, 
and  though  probably  the  whole  of  them  be-i 
come  impregnated  with  this  poison  afterwards, 
yet,  by  avoiding  every  thing  that  might  act 
♦is   an    exciting  cause,    they   finally  .  escape 


[      341      ] 

the  ravages  of  the  disease.  If  however  they 
act  in  a'  different  manner  ;  if  instead  of  being 
cautious  and  circumspect  in  their  mode  of 
living,  they  indulge,  during  their  confinement, 
in  intemperance  or  any  kind  of  irregularity, 
they  seldom  find  safety  even  in  the  most  rigid 
seclusion  from  the  sick.  Hence,  different 
individuals  in  the  same  house  remain  healthy, 
or  sicken, .  accordingly  as  their  habits  are 
temperate  or  otherwise :  and  hence,  those 
who  escape  plague  under  such  circumstan- 
ces, owe  their  exemption,  not  to  the  want  of 
an  intercourse  with  the  infected,  but  to  their 
avoiding  such  causes,  as  might  rouse  into 
action  the  principles  of  disease  which  lurk 
in  their  systems.  Nor  are  such  persons 
ever  clear  of  danger  from  exciting  causes, 
till  by  time  and  a  change  in  the  state  of  their 
atmosphere,  their  bodies  are  purged  of  the 
miasm  they  contain. 

But  further,  it  is  customary  with  most 
Europeans  in  Constantinople,  Syria,  and 
Egypt,  to  confine  themselves  to  the  upper 
Stories  of  their  houses,  during  their  quaran- 
tine, in  times  of  pestilence.  To  this  prac- 
tice they  have  been  led  by  observing,  that 
those  who  reside  below  during  their  confine- 
ment, are  by  far  the  most  liable  to  surfer 
from  the  disease. 


[      342      ] 

The  explanation  of  this  fact  is  simple 
an'd  obvious.  It  would  appear  that  the 
putrid  exhalation  which  contributes  to  the 
tial  state  of  their  atmosphere,  rises 
to  but  an  inconsiderable  distance  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  It  either,  therefore, 
does  not  reach  the  air  of  their  upper  stories 
at  all,  or  exists  in  it  in  such  a  state  of  dilution 
and  weakness,  as  to  be  incapable  of  derang- 
ing the  functions  of  the  body. 

Were  it  practicable  for  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia  to  pass  their  time  wholly  in  the 
upper  parts  of  their  houses,  and  to  remain 
inaccessible  to  the  lower  btratum  of  air, 
during  the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever,  it  is 
probable  they  might,  by  thus  living  above  the 
region  of  the  cause  of  disease,  enjoy  an 
equal  exemption  from  its  influence. 

It  remains  that  I  should  advert  to  that 
opinion,  which  regards  plague  as  nothing  else 
than  the  highest  grade  of  jail  or  typhus 
fever. 

Were  -I  to  express,  in  general  terms, 
my  sentiments  respecting  this  hypothesis,  I 
would  say,  that  what  entitles  it  to  most  consi- 
deration and  credit  is,  its  ranking  in  the  cata- 
logue of  its  advocates,  the  illustrious  professor 


[      S43      ] 

of  the  institutes  and  practice  of  medicine,  in 
the  *  University  of  Pennsylvania.  *  But,  not 
even  the  authority  of  that  great  teacher  can 
lead  me  -to  a  belief  in  the  identity  of  plague 
and  typhus  fever. 

Jhese  diseases   appear  to  be  different 
for  the  following  reasons  ; 

I.  .Because'  they  prevail  in  different 
seasons  of  the  year,  and  under  different  de- 
grees of  heat.  Typhus  fever  is  a  disease  of 
high  latitudes,  and  rages  most  during  the 
winter  season  ;  whereas  plague  is  most  com- 
mon in  countries  nearer  to  the  tropics,  and 
originates  and  i  e  ids  only  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  summer  temperature. 

II.  Typhus  fever  is  certainly  propagated 
by  contagion,  and  requires,  for  its  communi- 
cation from  the  sick  to  the  well,  no  peculiarly 
malignant  constitution  of  atmosphere.  If  a 
case  of  it  be  removed  from  a  city,  town,  or 
hospital,  where  it  prevails,  to  a  healthy  situa- 
tion in  the  country,  it  remains  still  a  source  of 
danger  to  nurses  and  attendants.  But  it 
has  been  already  mentioned,  that  the  case  is 
different  with  regard  to  plague ;  because  a 
similar  removal  disarms  it  entirely  of  its  power 


[      244      ] 

of  propagation.  How,  I  beg  leave  to  i  askj 
are  these  facts  reconcileahle  with  the  opinion, 
which  regards  the  latter  as  a  higher  ancl  more 
malignant  grade  of  the  former  disease  ?  Sup- 
posing them  to  be  in  reality  nothing  more 
than  different  modifications  or  degrees  of  the 
same  malady,  would  not  the  foregoing  cir- 
cumstances bespeak  plague  to  be  of  the  two 
the  most  weak  and  perishable  ? 

III.  Typhus  fever  attacks  women  rather 
than  men,  and  the  weakly  and  such  as  sub- 
sist on  impoverished  fare,  rather  than  the 
robust  and  such  as  indulge  in  a  generous  diet. 
But  it  was  stated' in  a  former  part  of  my  ad- 
dress, that  the  reverse  of  this  is  true  with 
respect  to  plague.  Its  favourite  victims 
are,  high  livers,  and  those  who  possess  the 
most  vigorous  constitutions. 

VI.  In  the  countries  of  the  East,  which 
are  so  frequently  the  mournful  theatre  of 
pestilence,  typhus  fever  is  altogether  unknown. 
But  this  wou'd  not  be  the  case  were  it  only  a 
subordinate  modification  of  plague  :  for  in 
such  a  state  of  things,  an  inferior  degree  of 
the  same  circumstances  which  produce  the 
latter  disease,  would  inevitably  in  some  instan- 
ces give  origin  to  the  former.     Perhaps  the 


[     345     ] 

warmth  of  eastern  countries,  and  the  general 
circulation  of  air  which  the  inhabitants  conse- 
quently preserve  in  their  dwellings,  is  the 
cause  of  their  exemption  from  tvpnus  fever. 
For  this,  as  already  mentioned,  is  a  disease 
of  cold  latitudes  and  seasons,  rather  than  of 
warm. 

V.  True  plague  never  prevails  except 
during  the  season,  and  within  the  sphere,  of 
putrid  exhalation.  The  aid  of  this  poison, 
therefore,  seems  essential  to  its  existence. 
But  the  case  is  different  with  regard  to  typhus. 
Perfectly  independent  of  the  putrefactive  pro- 
cess, a  vitiated  secretion  from  the  human 
system  is  all  it  requires  for  its  origin  and 
propagation.  Nor  is  it  liable,  like  plague,  to 
be  arrested  in  its  course  by  a  long  continuance 
of  dry  weather. 

VI.  To  whatever  extent  typhus  fever 
may  spread  irt  a  town  or  city,  it  never  acquires 
such  an  ascendency  over  its  cotemporary 
diseases,  as  either  to  banish  them,  or  force  them 
to  assume  its  own  characteristic  symptoms. 
The  reason  of  this  is,  that  it  never  becomes 
truly  epidemic  by  gaining  possession  of  the 
general  atmosphere  of  the  place  where  it 
prevails.     It  may  be  regarded  as  at  all  times 

Yy 


[      545      ] 

an  insulated  disease,  resulting  entirely  from 
human  contagion,  and  is  neither  preceded, 
accompanied,  nor  followed  by  uncommon 
malignity  in  other  diseases.  Nor  is  its  pre- 
valence marked  by  striking  peculiarities  in 
any  of  the  cotemporary  phenomena  of  nature. 
No  commotions  of  the  earth,  nor  frightful 
meteors  in  the  Heavens,  usher  in  its  ravages  ; 
no  volcanic  eruptions  give  token  of  its  approach, 
nor  break  forth  during  its  continuance  to  cele- 
brate its  orgies  ;  nor  do  drought  and  insects, 
the  harbingers  of  famine,  co-operate  with  it 
in  the  work  of  destruction. 


Perfectly  local  in  its  origin,  and  cir- 
cumscribed in  its  extent,  typhus  lever  appears 
to  possess  no  relationship  to  those  sweeping- 
epidemics,  which  are  properly  entitled  to  the 
name  of  pestilential.  -The  disease  of  want 
and  wretchedness,  it  is  more  peculiarly  con- 
fined to  the  abodes  of  poverty;  but  they, 
operating  on  a  more  extensive  scale,  and 
taking  a  loftier  aim,  attack,  without  dis- 
tinction,  tne  monarch  on  his  throne,  and  the 
pauper  who  subsists  on  the  fragments  of 
chanty. 

But,  conscious  of  the  tresspass  which, 
the  copiousness  of  my  subject  has  already 


t     347     ] 

obliged  me  to  commit  on  your  timt,  I  shall 
conclude  by  laying  before  you  a  few  general 
remarks. 

Pestilence  should  be  regarded  as  a 
generic  term,  including  every  description  oi 
disease,  which  depends  for  its  origin  and 
propagation  on  a  malignant  atmosphere. 

As  plague  and  yellow  fever  appears  to 
result  from  this  source,  and  as  they  agree 
wrth  each  other  in  so  many  and  such  essential 
points,  they  would  seem  to  be  nothing  else 
than  varieties  of  pestilence,  modified  by  the 
difference  of  circumstances  under  which  they 
prevail. 

As  the  contagious  nature  of  these 
diseases  is,  at  least,  extremely  problematical, 
and  as  the  propagation  and  ravages  of  both 
are  certainly  promoted  by  putrid  exhalations, 
officers  of  police,  in  the  cities  of  this  and  other 
countries,  should  be  much  less  solicitous  to 
close  the  avenues  of  their  introduction  from 
abroad,  than  to  prevent  their  generation  and 
nourishment  from  domestic  causes. 

Finally,  as  a  malignant  disease,  whose 
features  declare  it  to  belong  to  the  family  of 
pestilence,  has  lately  made  its  appearance  in 


[      343      ] 

the  kingdom  of  Spiin,  I  cannot,  without  min- 
gled emotions  of  pity  and  contempt,  content- 
pi  tte  the  unenlightened  and  feeble  efforts  that 
are  m  de  to  prevent  its  introduction  into  adja- 
cent nations.  Unless  the  pestilential  consti- 
tution which  appears  to  prevail  in  their  atmos- 
phere be  done  .away,  or  a  system  of  domestic 
cleanliness  be  rigorously  enforced,  as  well 
might  those  nations  attempt  to  countermand 
the  laws  of  planetary  attraction,  or  to  stay, 
by  their  military  guards,  the  course  of  the 
angel  that  rides  on  the  whirlwind,  as  to  set 
limits  to  the  ravages  of  this  calamity. 


FINIS. 


THOMAS   AND   WILLIAM   BRADFORD,   PRINTERS, 


Date  Due 

C  i  '  Lj  r  i     * 

^■ffl   fl 

a 

i 

• 

L.  B.  Cat.  No.  1137 

614.49      3147 

T3 


23730 


flalflwg 


Clalrjwp"1 1  'ff  m^Tnn-iyg 


DATE  DUE 


ISSUED  TO 


TeBior.  aid         n    \1      . 
614.49      C147  23730 


rfSr   *'' 


•4f* 


wm£ 


<PW 


Sfcal 


RJUK 


-  > 


I    * 


&w 


*'-  red 


